LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


St.  Gaudens'  Statute  of  Lincoln,  in  Lincoln  Tark,  Chicago. 


HEADLIGHTS 

OF 

AMERICAN  HISTORY 

No.  2. 


LINCOLN. 

BY 

REV.  A.  M.  BULLOCK,  Ph.  D. 

Author    of    "MORMONISM    AND    THE    MORMONS," 
"SEARCH   LIGHTS/'    "STUDIES   IN    REVELA- 
TION,"  "WASHINGTON." 

"We  cannot  escape  history." — Lincoln. 


"He  was  a  leader  without  seeming  to  be.  *  *  * 
He  died  as  he  had   lived,   a  great   Statesman." 

— Ghief  Justice  Watte. 

"The   Pericles   of   the   American    Republic." — 

— Goldwin  Smith. 


"He  was   the  greatest   man   I   ever   knew." 

— U.  8.  Qrant. 


"A  great  man, — great  in  what  he  did — even 
greater  in  what  he  was." — James  Bryce. 

"Raised  up  by  God,  inspired  of  God  was  Abra- 
ham Lincoln ;  and  a  thousand  years  hence,  no 
drama,  no  epic,  will  be  read  with  greater  interest 
than  that  which  tells  of  his  life  and  death." 

— Henry  Watterson. 


"The  name  of  Lincoln  will  remain  one  of  the 
greatest  that  history  has  to  inscribe  on  its  pages." 

— D'AuMgne. 

Lincoln!  "Mothers  shall  teach  thy  name  to 
their  lisping  children.  The  youth  of  our  land 
shall  emulate  thy  virtues.  Statesmen  shall  study 
thy  record,  and  from  it  learn  lessons  of  wisdom." 

— Bishop  Simpson. 

APPLETON,    WISCONSIN. 
January,    Nineteen    Hundred   and    Thirteen. 


Copyrighted  by  A.  M.  Bullock, 

1913. 
First  Edition. 


ALONZO  MANSFIELD  BULLOCK,  PH.  D. 


FOREWORD. 

A  few  words  of  explanation  are  due  the 
subscribers  to  " Lincoln. " 

Mr.  Bullock,  who  had  put  such  faith- 
ful loving  work  in  this  book,  did  not  live 
to  see  it  published.  He  dropped  by  the 
wayside,  literally,  and  I,  his  wife,  took 
out  of  his  dead  hand  a  package  containing 
photographs  that  he  was  about  to  send  to 
the  engravers  for  this  work.  I  also  took 
an  unfinished  page  from  his  typewriter, 
and  put  it  with  the  last  pages  of  the  copy 
to  send  to  the  printer. 

As  no  one  but  Mr.  Bullock  knew  all 
the  details  of  his  plans  for  the  finished 
book,  it  is  impossible  to  escape  making 
some  mistakes,  and  I  ask  pardon  for  such 
from  you,  the  subscribers  to  "Lincoln,'1 
"Friends  who  have  made  it  possible  to 
publish  the  book,"  as  Mr.  Bullock  often 
said. 

We,  my  son  and  I,  have  done  the  best 
we  could  to  carry  out  Mr.  Bullock's 
plans  so  far  as  we  knew  them,  and  any 
failures  are  due  to  lack  of  understanding 
and  not  to  lack  of  will. 

GEORGIA  B.   BULLOCK. 


To  "UNCLE  ABE'S  PETS"— "The 
Tenth  New  York  Artillery,''  Comrades, 
living  and  dead; — to  the  Hon.  Robert  T. 
Lincoln; — to  Egbert  J.  Scott,  boyhood 
friend,  who  was  captured  at  Chickamauga 
and  died  at  Anderson ville; — and  to  the 
late  Hon.  Z.  G.  Simmons,  honorary 
member  of  the  National  Encampment, 
G.  A.  R.,  and  friend  of  the  author  in  his 
early  manhood, — this  book  is  affectionately 
dedicated. 


Z.   G.    SIMMONS. 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


The  weary  form  that  rested  not, 

Save  in  a  martyr's  grave; 
The  care-worn  face  that  none  forgot, 

Turned  to  the  kneeling  slave. 

We  rest  in  peace,  where  his  sad  eyes 

Saw  peril,  strife  and  pain ; 
His  was  the  awful  sacrifice, 

And  ours,  the  precious  gain. 

— Whittier. 


AUTHOR'S   STATEMENT. 


Carlyle  once  said: — "Had  the  carvers  of  marble 
chiseled  a  faithful  statue  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and 
shown  us  what  manner  of  man  He  was  like,  what 
His  height,  what  was  His  build,  and  what  the  fea- 
tures of  His  sorrowing  face,  I  for  one  would  have 
thanked  the  sculptor  with  all  the  gratitude  of  my 
heart  for  the  portrait,  as  one  of  the  most  precious 
heirlooms  of  the  ages."  It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind 
that  the  real  character  and  mission  of  the  Christ 
were  but  faintly  understood  while  yet  living.  So  in 
a  minor  sense  contemporaries  of  great  men  cannot 
fully  estimate  the  place  these  men  are  to  occupy  in 
the  years  to  follow. 

A  few  men  are  living  to-day  who  saw  and  knew 
Abraham  Lincoln.  These  even  did  not  know  him 
then  as  they  know  him  now.  They  were  in  the 
midst  of  whirling  events,  the  full  meaning  of 
which  could  not  then  be  understood.  "God  had 
built  him  in  the  back-yard  of  the  Nation,  and  there 
wrapped  in  homely  guise,  had  preserved  and  ma- 
tured his  pure  humanity."  The  exposure  of  years 
was  needful  to  uncover  his  compelling  and  enduring 
greatness,  and  to  rightly  show  that  what  was  called 
grotesque  and  awkward  was  but  the  natural  grace 
and  ease  of  a  man  of  conscious  power,  devoid  of 
personal  vanity. 

Photography  has  given  us  Lincoln,  with  features 
in  mental  action,  in  various  moods  and  at  great 
moments  in  his  life.  But  no  one  sitting,  however 
true  to  life  at  that  particular  time,  can  show  the 
record  of  the  life  entire.  Of  the  hundreds  of  pic- 


tures  which  appear  all  are  not  reliable.  Some 
years  ago  I  came  into  possesion  of  a  picture  pur- 
porting to  be  that  of  Lincoln.  I  had  been  familiar 
with  Lincoln  portraits  of  almost  every  type,  but 
with  this  there  was  something  which  somehow 
seemed  unnatural ;  just  what  it  was  seemed  diffi- 
cult for  me  to  decide.  The  face  and  features  fairly 
represented  those  of  Lincoln,  but  aside  from  these 
it  seemed  unnatural.  The  dress,  the  attitude,  the 
form  and  general  posture  and  things  otherwise  did 
not  seem  to  correspond.  I  could  not  help  to  ques- 
tion what  it  meant.  At  last  I  learned  the  secret. 
Some  would  be  artist,  who  knew  but  little  of  the 
man,  or  cared  but  little, — a  fake  withal,  who 
thought  to  gain  a  little  money,  had  put  the  head  of 
Lincoln  onto  the  neck  and  body  of  John  C.  Calhoun. 
Such  portraitures  of  Lincoln  are  not  unknown  in 
print.  The  following  pages,  it  is  hoped,  will  not 
thus  be  judged.  They  have  been  submitted  for 
correction  and  criticism,  as  to  matters  of  fact,  to 
Robert  T.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Sweet,  his  long  time 
private  Secretary,  who  permitted  the  examination 
of  manuscripts  and  original  data  and  documents  of 
the  martyred  President,  and  otherwise  greatly  fa- 
vored the  author  in  his  work.  To  these  men  and  to 
many  others  who  have  interested  themselves,  and 
rendered  valuable  assistance,  the  author  wishes  to 
acknowledge  himself  thankfully  indebted. 

A.   M.   BULLOCK. 


PREFACE. 

Mr.  Bullock  has  written  of  Lincoln  in  a  manner 
calculated  to  give  the  reader  a  new  idea  of  the 
great  President.  The  result  of  his  research  in  pre- 
paring the  work  shows  that  he  has  pretty  thor- 
oughly exhausted  the  subject.  His  familiarity 
with  the  antecedents  of  Lincoln ;  his  knowledge  of 
the  early  life  and  surroundings  of  the  boy,  his 
parental  home  and  a  mother's  invaluable  help,  are 
notably  manifest.  Lincoln's  determination  to  ac- 
quire learning,  his  devotion  to  duty,  his  excep- 
tionally good  qualities  from  childhood  on,  and  his 
unyielding  opposition  to  slavery — all  prophetic  of 
the  man  and  the  leader  to  be,  are  so  told  as  to  be 
of  marked  value  to  the  young  people  of  to-day. 
The  picture  of  the  man  needed  in  the  Nation's 
crisis;  the  Lincoln-Douglas  debates;  the  nomina- 
tion of  Lincoln  for  the  Presidency,  his  great  service 
through  the  War,  his  death  and  the  summary  of 
the  man  and  his  work,  can  but  hold  the  closest  at- 
tention of  the  reader,  and  must  leave  an  impression 
that  canot  fail  to  be  of  real  value  to  present  day 
life  and  activities. 

Dr.  Bullock  makes  it  plain  that  Lincoln  was  a 
man  of  fine  literary  attainments,  a  leader,  a  states- 
man and  an  exemplary  Christian.  If  I  were  able 
I  should  write  of  this  portraiture  of  Lincoln  as 
Dr.  Warren  has  written,  which  is  equivalent  to 
saying  I  indorse  what  Dr.  Warren  says. 

It  is  a  work  that  will  live  and  work  for  the 
Nation's  good  for  generations. 

J.  A.  WATBOUS, 
Lieutenant-Colonel,  U.  S.  Army,  retired. 

8 


LIEUT.    COL.   J.   A.   WATROUS, 
U.  S.  A.     Retired. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Each  new  moment  of  each  new  hour,  new  human 
lives  are  being  added  to  our  human  family.  Rapid 
as  is  the  melting  away  of  our  citizenship  at  the 
summons  of  death,  the  oncoming  of  fresh  recruits 
is  yet  more  rapid.  And  what  can  the  patriot  more 
desire  than  to  see  the  great  characters  and  great 
lives  of  our  country's  history  so  depicted,  and  ever 
freshly  re-depicted,  that  no  generation  of  Ameri- 
cans, and  no  generation  of  their  contemporaries  in 
other  lands,  can  ever  fail  to  derive  from  those 
characters  and  lives  a  fitting  inspiration. 

High  and  sacred  is  the  task  of  those  called  to 
this  ever  new  utilization  of  the  past.  Whoever 
really  succeeds  in  transmitting  and  interpreting  to 
successors  the  silenced  voices  of  great  pathfinding 
predecessors  in  world-leadership,  and  thus  effec- 
tively contributes  to  ennoble  the  world's  future  by 
forces  drawn  from  the  world's  past,  achieves  a 
work  of  more  than  temporal  or  spatial  significance. 
He  has  won  a  place  in  the  very  laboratory  of  that 
Power  Unseen,  who  upholds  and  governs  the  Uni- 
verse. 

Among  all  the  great  lives  which  render  our  na- 
tional heritage  luminous  and  inspiring,  what  one  is 
more  worthy  of  ever  repeated  study  than  that  to 
whose  portraiture  the  following  pages  are  devoted? 
Gratitude  should  suffice  to  cause  each  future  son 
of  the  Republic  to  acquaint  himself  with  so  great 
a  benefactor.  A  Persian  poet  has  said : 

Nothing  adorns  us  humans 
More  than  humanity. 

9 


In  whom  more  than  in  Lincoln  was  humanity 
embodied?  Is  self-sacrificing  altruism  the  crown- 
ing excellence  and  glory  of  humanity ;  how  it 
shines  forth  in  him 

Whose  mighty  task  was  done 

Through  blood  and  tears,  that  we  might  walk  in 
joy. 

Any  honest  study  of  the  man  who  was  known 
world-wide  as  the  embodiment  of  honesty,  has  little 
need  of  commendatory  introductions. 

The  writer  of  the  volume  here  given  to  the  public 
has  unusual  qualification  for  the  task  he  has  un- 
dertaken. In  not  a  few  psychological  peculiarities 
and  principles  of  action  he  is  akin  to  the  man 
whom  he  has  aimed  to  picture.  Then  he  was  him- 
self a  soldier  in  those  dark  days  of  the  Civil 
War, — one  of  the  brave  young  men,  who  in  answer 
to  the  call  of  the  hard  pressed  President,  promptly 
and  valorously  responded, — 

We  are  coming,  Father  Abraham, 
Three  hundred  thousand  more! 

He  furthermore  wields  a  practiced  pen,  and  has 
previously  made  uncommonly  extensive  studies  in 
the  beginnings  of  our  national  history.  With  the 
Lincoln  literature  he  has  thoroughly  familiarized 
himself ;  and  in  his  use  of  the  material  selected  he 
ever  keeps  the  personality  of  the  central  figure  so 
in  view  that  even  young  readers  of  history  will  be 
likely  to  be  carried  forward  from  the  first  page  to 
the  last  by  the  charm  of  the  heroic  and  personal 
touches  continually  coming  to  light. 

When  Augustus  Saint-Gaudens  passed  from 
earth,  his  friend,  Richard  Watson  Gilder,  solaced 

10 


his  own  poignant  grief  by  remembering  that  it  had 
been  the  sculptor's  high  privilege  to  work  with 
Lincoln  as  a  subject,  and  so  to  link  his  name  to 
one  assured  of  immortality.  These  are  his  words: 

O  fateful  stars!   that  lit  the  climbing  way 

Of  that  dear,  martyred  son  of  fate  and  fame, — 

The  supreme  soul  of  an  immortal  day, — 

Linked  with  his  name  is  our  great  sculptor's  name ; 

For  now  in  art  eternal  breathes  again 

The  gaunt,  sweet  presence  of  our  chief  of  men — 

That  soul  of  tenderness;    that  spirit  stern, 

Whose  fires  divine  forever  flame  and  burn. 

While  yet  living,  my  friend,  the  author  of  this 
book  is  to  be  congratulated  on  a  like  good  fortune. 
He  has  linked  his  name  to  Lincoln's,  and  in  an  art 
more  expressive  than  that  of  the  sculptor,  caused 
to  breathe  again 

The  gaunt,  sweet  presence  of  our  chief  of  men — 
That  soul  of  tenderness ;    that  spirit  stern 
Whose  fires  divine  forever  flame  and  burn. 

WILLIAM  FAIEFIELD  WARREN. 
Boston  University. 

America  has  gained  one  more  ideal  character. 
He  (Lincoln)  has  the  wisdom  which  happily  be- 
longs to  a  perfectly  honest  and  simple  character. 
He  never  was  led  by  cupidity,  vanity  or  selfishness 
of  any  kind.  He  had  the  result  of  a  naturally 
sympathetic  nature,  a  remarkable  power  of  reading 
public  sentiment  and  keeping  himself  in  touch  with 
what  he  called  the  common  people.  *  *  *  He 
would  have  done  nothing  unconstitutional  to  effect 
immediate  emancipation.  He  did  not,  as  President, 
allow  himself  to  be  led  into  premature  and  illogical 

11 


measures.  But  biding  his  time,  with  patient 
sagacity,  he  struck  it,  (slavery)  deliberately  and 
legally  the  blow  of  which  it  died.  It  struck  him 
in  return  the  blow  which  will  make  him  live  in  the 
love  of  the  Nation  and  of  mankind  forever. — 

GOLDWIN  SMITH. 

*     *    * 

Lincoln  never  posed  or  put  on  airs  or  attempted 
to  make  any  particular  impression.  *  *  *  He 
seemed  to  see  every  side  of  everything.  He  had 
the  most  comprehensive,  the  most  judicious  mind, 
least  faulty  in  his  conclusions,  of  any  man  I  ever 
knew.  *  *  *  This  unerring  judgment,  this  patience 
which  waited  and  which  knew  when  the  right  time 
had  arrived,  is  an  intellectual  quality  that  I  do 
not  find  exercised  upon  any  such  scale,  and  with 
such  unerring  precision  by  any  other  man  in 
history.  *  *  *  He  developed  into  a  great  military 
man,  that  is  to  say,  a  man  of  superior  military 
judgment.  After  three  or  four  years  of  constant 
practice  in  the  science  and  art  of  war  he  arrived 
at  this  extraordinary  knowledge  of  it  so  that  Von 
Moltke  was  not  a  better  General,  or  an  abler 
planner  or  expounder  of  a  campaign  than  was 
President  Lincoln.  To  sum  it  up  he  was  a  born 
leader  of  men.  He  knew  human  nature ;  he  knew 
what  chord1  to  strike,  and  was  never  afraid  to 
strike  it,  when  he  believed  the  time  had  arrived. 
— CHARLES  A.  DANA. 


12 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Some  years  ago,  in  one  of  our  Eastern  cities,  a 
guide  was  conducting  a  company  of  visitors  through 
a  celebrated  Art  gallery.  Near  the  entrance  of  the 
gallery  hung  a  large  painting.  Daubs  of  color  here 
and  there  made  that  painting,  near  at  hand,  appear 
anything  but  comely  and  attractive.  Said  one  of 
the  visitors  in  passing: — "What  an  amateur  piece 
of  work  !  what  could  have  been  the  object  in  placing 
such  a  specimen  in  a  gallery  like  this?"  There  were 
artists  in  that  company ;  but  the  remark  passed  un- 
heeded. The  visitors  strolled  on,  admiring  now 
this,  then  that.  Returning  after  a  time  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  gallery,  and  at  some  distance 
from  the  entrance,  the  one  who  had  criticised  the 
painting  named,  turned  suddenly  and  said : — "Look 
there!  see  that  magnificent  painting!  how  did  we 
come  to  miss  it  in  passing?"  Smiling,  the  guide 
responded : — "Why,  madam,  that  is  the  'amateur 
painting'  noted  as  we  entered."  That  painting  was 
the  work  of  a  master  artist,  intended  however,  for 
a  distant  view.  An  Angelo,  a  Raphael,  a  Kaulbach, 
could  comprehend  the  value  of  that  rare  painting 
near  at  hand,  but  to  see  its  worth,  and  the  blend- 
ing tints  and  harmony  of  its  parts,  it  was  needful 
for  the  untrained  eye  to  see  it  from  the  distance. 

So  it  is  at  times  with  men  and  women  of  real 
worth  and  greatness.  Fifty  years  ago  or  so,  at  the 
entrance  way  of  our  Civil  War,  there  appeared  a 

13 


strange  and  unpretentious  man,  who,  to  the  neat- 
sighted  and  to  the  casual  observer,  seemed  illy 
suited  for  the  place  of  leadership  assigned  him  in 
that  eventful  crisis.  The  few  could  see  and  did 
know  his  worth,  but  the  masses,  to  understand, 
must  see  him  in  the  focal  light  of  deeds  accom- 
plished. 

We  are  apt  to  judge  of  men  by  the  pleasing  pres- 
ence, by  the  seemly  face  and  symmetry  of  form,  by 
what  they  wear  and  how  they  wear  it;  by  what 
society  calls  genteel,  and  what  the  world  calls 
bright  and  brilliant.  We  shun  the  haggard  face, 
the  graceless  form,  the  awkward  carriage,  the  sad, 
the  sorrowing  and  the  stricken.  But  could  we  see 
more  clearly,  and  could  we  judge  more  accurately, 
the  rough  and  repulsive  exterior,  like  shells  of 
oysters,  like  dingy  sands,  like  rugged  foothills,  like 
treeless  mountains, — would  prove  at  times  the  way 
marks  to  the  richest  gems; — to  the  Johannesburgs, 
the  Melbournes,  the  Yosemites,  the  Gardens  of  the 
Gods  in  human  history. 

The  Seer  of  ancient  Israel  gives  us  a  partial 
portraiture  of  some  of  the  human  qualities  of  the 
Son  of  Man : — "He  shall  grow  up  as  a  tender  plant 
and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground.  *  *  *  He  hath 
no  form  nor  comeliness ;  and  when  we  shall  see  Him 
there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  Him.  *  *  * 
A  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief,  and 
we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  Him.  *  *  *  He 
was  despised  and  we  esteemed  Him  not.  *  *  *  He 
was  oppressed  and  He  was  afflicted,  yet  He  opened 
not  His  mouth.  *  *  *  For  the  transgression  of  my 
people  was  He  stricken.  *  *  *"  These  were  some 

14 


of  the  human  qualities  and  some  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  sacred  mission,  of  the  matchless  Son 
of  man, — whose  name  was  destined  to  stand  above 
every  name  in  all  history ;  and  yet  He  was  misun- 
derstood. It  is  true  we  understand  these  charac- 
teristics now  in  the  converging  light  and  facts  of 
centuries.  This  portraiture,  in  a  minor  sense,  is 
almost  a  photogravure  of  some  of  the  great  leaders 
in  the  world's  history. 

It  matters  little  how  the  externals  may  have  ap- 
peared, men  whose  lives  have  been  consecrated  to 
the  welfare  of  the  race  and  coupled  with  great 
events  never  die.  They  may  be  buried  and  pass 
from  mortal  sight,  but  their  deeds  and  thoughts 
and  influence  live  in  the  hearts  and  memory  of  the 
world.  So  it  has  been,  so  it  is  and  so  it  always  will 
be.  Such  characters  and  names  stand  forth  in  bold 
relief  and  can  no  more  be  lost  to  historic  record 
than  the  erosions  of  time  can  wear  away  the  epochs 
in  which  they  lived  and  wrought.  In  this  record 
of  enduring  fame  appears  Abraham  Lincoln. 

We  seek  to  commemorate  the  work  and  charac- 
ter of  this  man.  For  him  no  claim  is  made  for 
charm  of  face,  or  beau  ideal  of  physical  form ;  for 
the  aesthetic  in  person  or  in  vesture; — for  faultless 
dress,  or  stately  carriage,  or  grace  of  bearing.  No 
claim  is  made  of  influence,  power  or  prestige  from 
an  illustrious  ancestry ; — no  claim  of  inherited 
wealth  or  place  of  honor.  He  was  born  in  the 
cabin  of  a  pioneer,  and  was  reared  in  want  and 
poverty.  The  surroundings  of  his  early  life  and 
manhood  were  dark  and  forbidding  and  gave  no 
promise  of  his  future  fame  and  greatness. 

15 


Strange,  indeed,  appears  the  story  of  this  man. 
Strange,  I  am  persuaded,  because  the  hand  of  God 
marked  out  the  way,  guarded  the  child,  and  led 
the  boy,  the  man,  in  ways  he  did  not  know  or  un- 
derstand; and  when  the  crucial  moment  came 
raised  him  to  supreme  command  and  intrusted  him 
with  the  destiny  of  the  Nation.  Only  a  mighty 
soul,  inspired  of  God,  could  breast  the  adverse  tides 
and  stem  the  difficulties  and  the  dangers  which 
were  in  the  way ;  only  a  mighty  soul,  imbued  with 
wisdom  from  on  high,  could  take  the  helm  when 
the  storm  of  generations  had  gathered,  and  was 
already  opening  in  its  fury,  and  guide  the  Ship  of 
State  through  the  raging  sea  of  strife,  and  anchor 
her  at  last  in  the  harbor  of  united  peace, — WITH 

COLORS,  — O  SIGHT!  PITEOUS  BUT  SUB- 
LIME!—DIPPED  IN  THE  BLOOD  OF  A 
NATION'S  NOBLEST  SONS!  !  YET  WAVING 
IN  CRIMSON  GLORY  TO  THE  BREEZE  OF 
UNIVERSAL  FREEDOM!  !  ! 

Over  and  Underestimate  of  Men — Misconception. 

Sir  William  Taylor  has  said :  —  "The  world 
knows  not  its  greatest  men."  This  comes  about, 
sometimes,  because  there  lacks  the  greatness  of 
events  to  bring  them  out ; — sometimes,  because  of 
the  dimness  of  the  light ; — sometimes,  because  of 
toning  up  or  toning  down  the  facts  of  history,  and 
adding  to  or  taking  from  the  background  of  the  real 
life. 

Many  indeed  are  the  uncrowned  kings  of  earth, 
unknown  to  wordly  fame,  but  future  kings  unto 

16 


our  God,  and  destined,  like  the  stars,  to  shine  for- 
ever. From  this  point  of  view,  I  take  it,  Dr. 
Cuyler  has  said: — "In  the  sight  of  God,  Lincoln 
was  no  more  precious,  than  the  humblest  drummer 
boy  who  bled  away  his  young  life  on  the  sod  of 
Gettysburg  or  Chattanooga."  This  declaration  of 
Dr.  Cuyler  was  no  disparagement  to  Lincoln,  but 
an  earnest  protest  against  the  custom  of  hero- 
worship.  There  is  a  fashion  of  picturing  men  who 
come  within  the  lime-light  of  great  events  as  some- 
thing more  than  men.  In  this  we  do  these  men  a 
wrong, — we  do  ourselves  a  wrong.  Shakespeare 
puts  into  the  mouth  of  Antony  at  the  funeral  of 
Caesar; — "The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them, 
the  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones."  Biog- 
raphers and  eulogists  of  our  great  men  some- 
times take  the  opposite  as  their  rule,  picturing  the 
good  without  spot  or  blemish,  and  losing  sight  en- 
tirely of  frailties  and  defects.  This  may  be  gen- 
erous, but  not  just  to  historic  record.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  make  our  heroes  demi-gods  or  to  tres- 
pass upon  the  impossible.  When  we  consider  the 
talents  and  characteristics  of  our  great  men,  as  re- 
flected in  their  life  and  work,  with  visions  unac- 
customed to  the  peculiar  brightness,  we  are  able 
to  see  only  the  salient  points,  jutting  in  the  glamour, 
as  something  more  than  human,  and  to  overlook 
our  own  high  kinship  and  heritage.  It  is  some- 
thing great,  greater  than  we  sometimes  think,  to  be 
a  man,  and  the  undulations  of  greatness  as  we  see 
them  are  only  the  outcroppings  of  God's  image. 
It  is  only  human  that  God  somehow  touches  man 
and  that  man  somehow  touches  God.  "He  made  us 

17 


a  little  lower  than  the  angels  and  crowned  us  with 
glory  and  honor."  There  is  ample  scope,  I  am 
sure,  within  the  limits  of  true  manhood  to  give  full 
weight  and  measure  to  the  richest  gems  of  human 
kind,  even  when  we  leave  them  in  their  proper 
settings. 

Lincoln  Intensely  Human. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  man  of  like  passions 
with  ourselves.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  deify  him, 
or  to  hold  him  up  as  perfect  and  free  from  defects, 
— to  strip  him  of  those  qualities  which  give  us 
the  feeling  of  attachment  for  him.  He  was  one  of 
ourselves.  "He  was  human  to  the  core."i  He  had 
qualities  of  mind  and  soul  which  made  him  equal 
to  the  best  born  of  earth.  He  had  those  charac- 
teristics which  made  him  one  of  the  plain  common 
people.  He  moved  in  touch  with  strongest,  the 
highest  and  the  best,  and  was  never  overmatched. 
He  walked  on  a  plain  with  the  lowliest  and  was 
esteemed  as  their  counsellor  and  their  friend.  He 
was  the  great  American  Commoner,  the  friend  and 
the  servant  of  the  people. 

Who  his  ancestors  were,  or  what  his  genealogy 
we  may  not  question  minutely  here.  Being  asked 
concerning  his  grandfather,  Lincoln  himself  once 
said: — "I  am  more  concerned  to  know  what  his 
grandson  will  be."2  Enough  for  us  to  know  that 

1  "Abraham  Lincoln's  greatness  and  worth  lay  in  his 
simple  manhood.  So  that  the  excuse  that  we  offer  tot 
the  faults  and  failings  of  some  great  men  : — 'They  were 
only  human,'  was  the  very  crown  of  his  excellence.  He 
was  a  whole  man,  human  to  the  core  of  his  heart." — 
Robert  Collier. 

•Lincoln  Memorial  Album,  p.  203. — Robert  Collier. 

18 


WM.  F.  WARREN,  LL.  D. 


noble  blood  coursed  in  his  veins, — the  blood  of 
the  Puritan  and  of  the  Cavalier.  Where  or  how 
he  got  his  genius  we  may  not  query.  As  well 
might  we  inquire  where  Phidias,  or  Shakespeare, 
or  Burns,  or  Mozart,  got  theirs.  A  well  known 
teacher  once  said : — "What  is  ordinarily  known  as 
genius  is  but  the  result  of  application  and  hard 
work."3  I  am  persuaded  that  much  of  the  halo 
gathering  around  our  Lincoln  has  its  solution  here. 
He  had  his  special  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  and 
mother  wit.  He  was  born  with  noble  powers,  with 
ideals  and  ambition  to  utilize  those  powers,  a 
heart,  a  soul  to  govern  and  to  rule.  The  times  in 
which  he  lived  and  the  school  of  experience  through 
which  he  passed,  rough  and  forbidding  though  they 
were,  had  their  star  of  destiny  and  their  ray  of 
light  and  hope.  But  Divine  wisdom  and  the  hand 
of  Providence  can  best  explain  the  way  from  the 
shadows,  the  sorrows,  and  the  trials  of  the  lowly 
cabin  to  the  Nation's  Capitol  and  the  martyr's 
tomb. 

The  Men  and  the  Spirit  of  '76. 

When  Lincoln  was  born  in  Kentucky,  only 
twenty-five  had  passed  since  the  War  for  Inde- 
pendence. Veterans  of  Lexington,  and  Valley 
Forge,  and  Trenton  and  Yorktown,  were  in  the 
land.  The  blood  of  Revolutionary  fathers  coursed 
in  his  veins.  Washington  had  been  dead  less  than 
ten  years.  The  spirit  of  Colonial  heroism  was 
abroad.  Adams  and  Jefferson  and  others  were  still 
alive.  The  heroes  of  the  Revolution  were  the  ideals 

8  Dr.  Luther  J.  Jeronsens. 

19 


of  that  generation.  Lincoln  revered  the  fathers 
and  looked  upon  the  Declaration  and  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Nation  as  almost  sacred.  Washington 
was  his  ideal  of  a  man,  a  patriot  and  a  statesman. 
To  this  spirit  of  reverence  for  the  great  Declara- 
tion, for  the  Nation  and  its  principles,  together 
with  his  inborn  hatred  for  slavery,  may  be  traced, 
no  doubt,  the  inspiration  of  the  Emancipation  Pro- 
clamation, which,  perhaps  above  all  other  acts  per- 
formed by  him,  has  made  his  name  imperishable  in 
the  history  of  the  Nation  and  of  the  world.  To- 
day, with  nearly  fifty  years  between  us  and  his 
death,  posterity  offers  at  the  shrine  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  the  universal  tribute  of  true  greatness,  and 
pronounces  him  the  "man  for  the  times"  in  which 
he  lived. 

God  in  History. 

Here  we  observe,  if  we  look  closely,  the  foot- 
prints of  God  are  everywhere  visible  in  human 
history.  His  eye  is  upon  the  world,  and  His  hands 
upon  the  nations.  In  the  centuries  gone  by  He 
spoke  through  the  prophet,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  before  Cyrus  was  born — "Thus  saith  the  Lord 
to  His  annointed,  to  Cyrus  whose  right  hand  I  have 
holden,  to  subdue  nations  before  Him.  I  will  give 
thee  the  treasures  of  darkness,  and  hidden  riches 
of  secret  places,  that  thou  mayest  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord  which  call  thee  by  thy  name,  even  the 
God  of  Israel.  *  *  *  I  will  gird  thee  though 
thou  hast  not  known  me." 

When  God  wants  men  for  some  special  work,  He 
first  endows  them  with  the  powers  and  qualities 
needed  for  the  work  He  wants  accomplished.  He 

20 


then  puts  them  through  a  course  of  training  and 
educates  them  for  their  special  work.  God  wanted 
a  man  to  lead  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egyptian 
bondage.  For  forty  years  He  leaves  Moses  at  the 
court  of  Pharaoh,  then  takes  him  out  into  the 
rough  and  wild  and  barren  desert  of  Arabia.  There 
He  further  fits  him  for  the  work.  Then  He  sum- 
mons him  back  to  Egypt.  So  He  did  with  Lincoln. 
His  official  training  was  in  the  wilds  of  Kentucky, 
amid  pinching  poverty  in  Indiana  and  on  the  virgin 
prairies  of  Illinois.  When  the  time  was  fit,  how- 
ever, and  God  was  ready,  He  summoned  him  to  the 
front.  He  placed  in  his  hand  the  sceptre  of  author- 
ity, which  he  wielded  with  that  ease,  power  and 
wisdom  which  astonished  the  world,  and  won  for 
him  immortal  fame. 

Environments. 

In  tracing  the  life  of  this  illustrious  man,  a  faith- 
ful portraiture  requires  that  we  keep  in  mind  the 
times  and  places  where  he  lived ; — his  environ- 
ments, and  those  of  the  people  with  whom  he 
mingled.  Unity  and  just  relations  should  be  pre- 
served between  the  subject  and  his  surroundings. 
To  picture  the  early  life  of  Washington,  for  in- 
stance, other  than  in  a  wild  and  sparcely  settled 
colony,  is  to  lose  sight  of  the  interspersed  realities 
in  which  his  genius,  his  wisdom,  his  greatness  ap- 
peared, would  be  to  lose  sight  of  the  real  man.  To 
speak  of  Lincoln  as  practically  alone  in  the  trials, 
and  struggles  and  sorrows  of  his  early  life,  savors 
more  of  romance  than  reality,  makes  the  contrast 
out  of  place  and  deprives  us  of  a  kindred  touch. 

21 


The  story  of  his  early  life  has  become  inseparable 
from  the  rude  and  shabby  and  cheerless  cabin 
where  he  was  born,  the  pole  shed,  or  "half  faced 
camp," — as  such  were  called, — where  he  lived 
awhile  when  a  better  home  was  being  fitted  up; — 
the  low  and  open  attic  where  he  slept ; — the  wooden 
pegs  which  served  the  purpose  of  a  ladder ; — the 
bunks  made  of  poles,  and  beds  of  boughs  and  leaves, 
with  quilts  and  coverings  of  skins  of  wild  beasts ; — 
coats  and  clothing  made  of  the  hides  of  wolves,  and 
bears  and  deer ; — stools  of  slabs,  tables  of  riven 
logs,  earthen  floors,  and  chimneys  made  of  sticks 
and  logs.  But  it  savors  of  unreal  life  when  we 
speak  of  these  environments  of  want  and  penury, 
as  something  unusual  in  pioneer  life,  and  as  though 
in,  the  case  of  Lincoln,  they  dropped  down  in  the 
midst  of  plenty  and  in  an  old  and  settled  country. 
There  may  be  those  who  read  this  sketch,  now  aged 
and  infirm,  who,  as  pioneers,  in  the  early  days, 
built  the  one  roomed  shanties,  chinked  the  cracks 
with  sticks  and  mud,  and  covered  them  over  with 
riven  logs,  or  barks  and  boughs  of  trees,  and  lived 
long  years  with  scanty  means  and  plainest  food, 
and  thought  it  luxury  when  their  larder  was  some- 
thing more  than  potatoes  and  salt,  corn  dodgers 
and  the  like. 

Especially  were  these  conditions  prevalent  among 
the  pioneers  on  the  far  frontier  at  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century.  Then  North-central  Kentucky  was 
on  the  extreme  limits  of  civilization.  The  effect  of 
the  then  recent  barbarous  and  savage  surroundings 
were  still  apparent  in  the  rude  hovels,  primitive 
customs,  the  ignorance  and  uncouth  manners  of 

22 


some  of  the  early  settlers.  It  were  not  strange  if 
the  Lincolns  shared  to  some  extent  in  parts  of  this 
heritage. 

The  parents  of  Lincoln  were  poor ;  but  it  was  not 
the  poverty  of  city  slums  and  crowded  rookeries, 
or  that  of  sloth  and  shiftless  loafers.  It  was  the 
poverty  of  the  American  pioneer,  out  on  the  far 
frontier  in  the  wilderness  of  the  West. 

Ancestry. 

Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  were  married 
in  Washington  County,  Kentucky,  June  12th,  1806. 
The  families  of  this  couple  had  been  attracted  to 
these  new  lands  by  the  alluring  reports  of  Daniel 
Boone,  and  his  adventures.  They  had  emigrated 
from  the  Shenandoah  Valley  near  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century, — Kentucky  was  then  a  part  of 
Virginia.  Abraham  Lincoln,  grand-father  of  the 
future  President,  and  Daniel  Boone  were  personal 
friends  and  were  related  by  marriage  and  inter- 
marriage. This  Lincoln  when  a  young  man  went 
from  the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  North  Carolina. 
He  was  there  married,  and  from  thence  removed 
with  his  family  to  Kentucky. 

The  story  of  Lincoln's  parentage  and  early  life 
as  told  in  a  thousand  volumes,  booklets  and  pamph- 
lets and  sometimes  on  the  rostrum,  is  so  often  re- 
plete with  misrepresentaions,  incongruities  and  con- 
tradictions that  it  is  no  easy  task  to  separate  the 
truth  from  falsehood.  Careless  and  unwarranted 
statements,  and  groundless  tales,  and  ignorant  as- 
sumptions have  sometimes  won  belief  among  the 
credulous  and  uninformed,  while  scandal  mongers, 

23 


ever  ready  to  imagine  evil  rather  than  good  are 
always  lurking  to  inflame  the  unwary  and  the  evil 
minded.  The  lack  of  evidence,  too,  has  been  no 
small  hindrance  in  ascertaining  facts.  The  long 
hidden  secrets  of  the  Egyptian  Sphynx  may  illus- 
trate, in  a  minor  way,  the  confusion  and  miscon- 
ception touching  Lincoln's  ancestry ; — and  even  his 
own  uncertainty  concerning  his  parents'  marriage 
have  added  to  the  confusion.  We  have  it  from  au- 
thority which  is  beyond  all  question  that  Lincoln 
himself  sought  diligently,  but  in  vain  to  discern  the 
legal  proof  of  his  parents'  marriage,  but  died  with- 
out the  proof  positive  that  he  was  born  in  honest 
wedlock.  He  caused  to  be  made  a  careful  search 
of  records  in  Hardin  County,  while  since,  it  has 
developed  that  the  marriage  took  place  in  another 
country  and  not  in  Hardin.4  It  is  now  known  that 
Jesse  Head,  a  well  to  do  minister  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  performed  the  ceremony.  Lin- 
coln's parents  on  both  sides  were  of  lineage  of 
which  he  had  no  cause  to  be  ashamed. 

The  grand-father  of  Lincoln  was  fifth  in  line 
from  one  of  the  brothers  who  left  Old  England  in 
1736  to  rid  themselves  of  an  odious  government. 
They  founded  the  Hingham  colony  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts.  The  blood  of  a  noble  liberty  loving 
ancestry  coursed  in  the  veins  of  Thomas  Lincoln. 

*  Statement  to  the  author  by  Mr.  Stceet,  Robert  Lin- 
coln's Priv.  Sec'y.  The  following  statement,  given  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  under  oath  may  be  noted  :  "I  was  present 
at  the  marriage  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks,  in 
Washington  County,  Kentucky,  near  the  town  of  Spring- 
field ;  one  Jesse  Head,  a  Methodist  preacher,  performed 
the  ceremony.  I  knew  the  said  Thomas  Lincoln  and 
Nancy  Hanks  well,  and  knew  the  said  Nancy  Hanks  to 
have  been  virtuous  and  respectable,  and  of  good  parent- 
age."— Christopher  Columbus  Graham. 

24 


His  ancestors  were  among  the  Puritans  of  Massa- 
chusetts, the  Friends  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Cava- 
liers of  the  South,  while  General  Lincoln  of  Revolu- 
tionary fame,  and  the  two  Governors  Lincoln  of 
Massachusetts  were  of  the  same  blood  and  lineage, 
as  was  also  Att'y  General  Lincoln  in  Jefferson's 
Cabinet. 

Nor  was  the  ancestry  of  Nancy  Hanks  less  worthy 
and  respected.  Back  in  English  history  the  Com- 
moners' rights  were  awarded,  it  is  claimed,  to  a 
couple  of  brothers  by  the  name  of  Hanks  because 
of  valiant  service  rendered  in  war  against  the 
Danes.  The  deed  of  title  was  signed  by  the  grand- 
son of  Alfred  the  Great.  A  grandson  of  one 
Thomas  Hanks,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  above, 
who  fought  for  the  Commonwealth  under  Cromwell, 
came  to  America  in  1699,  Joseph  Hanks  by  name. 
Benjamin  Hanks,  the  fifth  in  line,  moved  south 
and  westward  from  the  Shenandoah  with  the  tide 
of  emigration.  They  were  prosperous  townfolk. 
Four  years  later  the  father  and  mother  died  leav- 
ing Nancy,  the  youngest  child,  an  orphan  at  the  age 
of  nine  years.  The  latter  found  a  home  with  an 
uncle  and  aunt,  her  mother's  sister.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  scan  the  history  and  incidentally  note  the 
will  of  Joseph  Hanks  which  settles  once  and  for  all 
the  parentage  of  Lincoln's  mother  as  also  her 
worthy,  upright  and  stainless  character^ 

There  is  a  hidden  secret  in  the  story  of  Lincoln 
which  it  is  well  we  do  not  overlook.  His  father 
Thomas  was  the  youngest  of  five  children  in  his 

"Jefferson's  Attorney  General  was  of  this  family  and 
refused  a  place  on  the  Supreme  Bench  of  U.  S. — Waiter- 
son. 

25 


father's  family.  When  Thomas  was  hut  six  years 
of  age  he  was  with  his  father  in  the  field.  An  In- 
dian came  upon  them  unawares  and  killed  the 
father.  An  elder  brother,  near  the  home,  saw  the 
father  fall ;  he  rushed  into  the  house,  snatched  a 
loaded  musket,  which  perhaps  he  had  never  shot 
before,  aimed  through  a  loop  hole,  and  shot  the  In- 
dian dead,  just  as  he  was  stooping  to  take  the 
younger  brother  as  a  captive.  Who  shall  say  that 
God  had  nought  to  do  with  that  bullet  and  its  aim, 
which  saved  the  child,  destined  in  the  years  to 
come  to  be  the  father  of  him,  who,  eighty  years 
thereafter,  was  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  leader  and 
the  savior  of  a  free  and  independent  nation.  And 
is  it  not  quite  out  of  place  to  denounce  this  orphan 
boy,  when  grown  to  manhood,  which  is  sometimes 
done,  as  among  the  low  and  shiftless  and  most  de- 
graded of  the  "white  trash"  socalled,  and  especially 
so  when  the  facts  do  not  confirm  or  warrant  the 
charged 

•After  the  nomination  of  Lincoln  for  the  Presidency, 
as  Is  so  often  the  case  In  political  campaigns,  scandalous 
stories  were  circulated  about  the  worthlessness  of  the 
father  and  mother  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Twenty  years 
later,  through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Buckley,  Miss  Ida 
Tarbell  and  others,  these  stories  were  sifted  and  their 
utter  falsity  shown  through  documentary  and  other  un- 
questionable evidence.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  Lincoln 
home  in  Kentucky  there  had  never  been  any  question  as 
to  the  respectability  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy 
Hanks.  The  marriage  record  and  certificate,  signed  by 
Rev.  Jesse  Head,  a  prominent  and  highly  respected  Meth- 
odist Minister,  who  performed  the  ceremony,  are  now 
matters  of  history.  An  account  of  the  marriage  feast, 
with  a  detailed  description  and  menu  of  the  feast,  re- 
markable for  those  times,  has  been  put  on  record  by 
parties  present  at  the  wedding.  *  *  *  "Tom  Lincoln  was 
a  carpenter,  and  a  good  one  for  those  days,  when  a  cabin 
was  built  mainly  with  the  axe,  and  not  a  nail  or  bolt 
or  hinge  in  it,  only  leathers  and  pins  at  the  door,  and  no 
glass,  except  in  watches  and  spectacles  and  bottles.  Tom 

26 


o 
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Birth  and  Frontier  Life. 

When  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  began 
their  married  life,  few,  very  few  indeed  were  the 
comforts  of  life  in  that  then  far  frontier.  The  ad- 
vantages of  school  and  church  and  culture,  even  in 
their  rudest  form,  were  extremely  limited.  There 
were  no  established  schools;  and  school  terms,  at 
the  best,  were  haphazard  and  irregular,  of  short 
duration  and  far  between,  depending  largely  upon 
itinerant  masters  happening  along.  Here  in  the 
wilds  of  Kentucky,  in  this  poor  cabin  home  of  the 
pioneer,  on  February  12th,  1809,  came  the  child 
who  was  destined  to  grace  and  honor  our  Nation's 
history,  and  to  stand  forever  among  the  foremost 
characters  in  all  agesJ 

The  child  was  strong  and  active  and  full  of  life, 
but  outside  a  few  stray  incidents,  a  snap  shot  now 

had  the  best  set  of  tools  in  what  was  then  and  now  Wash- 
ington County.  *  *  *  I  saw  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln  at 
her  wedding,  a  fresh-looking  girl.  Tom  was  a  respectable 
mechanic  and  could  choose,  and  she  was  treated  with 
respect.  *  *  *  It  is  all  stuff  about  Tom  Lincoln  keep- 
ing his  wife  in  an  open  shed  in  a  winter.  *  *  *  William 
Hardesty,  who  was  there  too,  can  say  with  me  that 
Tom  Lincoln  was  a  man  and  took  care  of  his  wife." — 
From  affidavit,  Dr.  Christopher  Columbus  Graham,  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  1881. 

7 The  morals,  the  religious  training  and  the  manly  and 
womanly  characteristics  of  much  of  the  rugged  pioneer 
times,  do  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  much  of  our 
modern  and  socalled  refined  society.  The  highest  char- 
acter is  not  usually  developed  in  ease  and  luxury  and  In 
the  flowery  pathways  of  life. 

We  are  indebted  to  Leonard  Swett,  a  lawyer  friend  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  for  an  account  given  to  him  by  Lincoln 
himself  of  his  early  life.  "It  was  told,"  says  Mr.  Swett, 
"with  mirth  and  glee.  His  biographers  have  given  to  his 
early  life  the  spirit  of  suffering  and  want.  Mr.  Lincoln 
gave  no  such  description,  nor  is  such  description  true. 
His  was  Just  such  a  life  as  has  always  existed  and  now 
exists  in  frontier  States." 

27 


and  then  of  the  home,  the  mother  and  the  father, 
an  account  or  two  of  youthful  mates,  and  a  flash 
light  here  and  there  to  break  the  monotony  of  the 
fearful  solitude,  very  little  is  known  of  the  first 
seven  years  of  that  young  life.  The  cheerless  cabin 
of  a  poor  frontiersman ; — the  meager  record  of  a 
migratory  father,  with  the  allurements  of  the  rifle 
and  wild  game ; — a  mother's  love  and  prayers  and 
oversight ; — a  sister's  care  and  companionship ; — 
some  boyish  sports  with  friends  like  Dennis  Hanks 
and  Austin  Gallaher; — a  few  days  schooling  off 
and  on  in  an  old  log  hut  some  miles  away ; — a 
Christian  service  now  and  then  in  some  log  cabin, 
or  wooded  grove; — the  heart  throbs  at  the  un- 
marked grave  of  a  younger  brother ; — the  tokens 
of  restless  vigor  of  strong  physique,  an  active  brain 
and  a  noble  heart, — are  rifts  in  the  cloudy  darkness 
which  must  tell  the  story  of  those  formative  years. 
To  secure  good  titles  to  Kentucky  lands  in  those 
days  was  most  difficult,  *  *  *  Because  of  this 
Daniel  Boone  lost  all  his  Kentucky  possessions. 
Largely  for  this  reason,  and  because  of  incoming 
slavery,  to  which  the  Lincolns  were  bitterly  op- 
posed, and  because  of  attractions  farther  west,  a 
new  home  is  sought,  down  and  across  the  Ohio 
River.  Indiana,  then,  was  scarcely  more  than  one 
grand  stretch  of  wilderness,  (though  that  year  it 
was  admitted  as  a  State  into  the  Union)  inhabited 
by  roving  Indians  and  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest. 
Here  again  we  find  the  boy  of  eight  years  in  the 
rude  cabin  of  the  pioneer ;  and  here,  on  the  frontier 
of  southern  Indiana,  he  spent  his  youth  and  early 
manhood.  In  these  frontier  homes,  his  life  and 

28 


character  do  not  lose  by  extreme  contrast,  as  In 
some  fairy  tale,  with  the  children  of  other  pio- 
neers.s  Through  these  common  experiences  of 
privation  and  hardship  of  pioneer  life  there  is  in- 
deed a  warmer  touch  of  heart  and  soul  as  we  en- 
ter the  poverty-stricken  home  of  the  future  Presi- 
dent, and  trace  his  course  and  difficulties,  sorrows 
and  discouragements,  together  with  the  defeats  and 
triumphs  of  succeding  years.  His  home  was  poorer, 
the  comforts  less,  the  privations  greater,  and  the 
hardships  more  severe,  no  doubt,  than  in  some  of 
the  homes  even  in  those  early  times  and  frontier 
places.9 

Home  Life, — Parents  and  Characteristics, — 

Influences. 

Thomas  Lincoln,  like  most  of  the  other  settlers, 
was  illiterate.  There  were  no  schools  and  he  had 
no  advantages  of  schooling.  After  his  marriage, 
his  wife  taught  him  to  write.  He  had  good  com- 
mon sense.  In  some  respects  he  lacked  thrift  and 
ambition,  but  he  was  not  wanting  in  self  respect. 
He  worked  with  a  will  when  work  came  his  way 
without  the  seeking  and  was  determined  and  ener- 
getic when  decision  was  once  made.  "He  was  not 

8  Thomas  and  Nancy  were  good  common  people,  not 
above  or  below  their  neighbors. — Dr.  Graham,  Louisville, 
Ky.,  as  above. 

9 1  am  only  suggesting  the  outline  story  of  some  who 
may  read  these  pages,  no  doubt,  when  I  say  that  my  own 
parents  were  not  owners  of  a  city  mansion.  My  sisters 
and  brothers  were  born  in  a  little  log  house,  and  I  only 
escaped  the  disgrace,  if  disgrace  it  is,  because  I  chanced 
to  be  the  youngest  of  the  family.  And  yet,  was  born  In 
the  State  of  New  York,  and  scarcely  a  generation  before, 
Lincoln  was  born  in  the  far  off  and  much  newer  frontier 
of  Kentucky. 

29 


lazy,  but  one  of  those  old  fellows  peculiar  to  those 
pioneer  times."io  He  liked  to  fish  and  hunt,  and 
living,  in  those  times  depended  much  upon  this. 
He  had  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  but  there  was 
comparatively  little  of  that  to  do.  He  was  peace- 
ful and  accommodating,  friendly,  openhearted  and 
jovial.  He  was  slow  to  take  affront,  but  when  once 
arousedl  was  well  nigh  invincible.  He  was  a  little 
above  the  medium  height,  strong  and  muscular  and 
fearless.  He  was  a  man  of  good  morals  and  in 
his  way  religious.  He  did  not  drink  intoxicating 
liquors,  or  swear,  or  gamble,  or  play  at  games  of 
chance.  Withal  he  had  good,  strong  natural  abili- 
ties. He  was  easy-going  and  inclined  to  take  things 
as  they  came,  when  he  might,  sometimes,  perhaps 
have  made  them  better. 

In  the  infancy  and  childhood  of  Lincoln  his  life- 
lines were  dark  and  unpromising.  His  secluded  life 
in  the  wilds  of  Kentucky,  and  the  early  years  in 
Indiana  had  nothing  unusual  to  cheer  and  to  glad- 
den save  the  companionship  of  a  loving  sister,  and 
the  tender  oversight  of  a  devoted  mother,  who  was 
possessed  of  rare  qualities  of  mind  and  heart. 
Though  born  to  drudgery  and  hardship,  she  was 
superior  in  culture  and  refinement  to  much  of  her 
surroundings,  and  was  possessed,  too,  in  a  marked 
degree,  of  the  higher  ideals  of  life.  The  poorly  clad 
and  tender-hearted  boy  wins  our  sympathy  and 
affection.  He  seems  determined  to  make  a  friend 
of  frowning  fortune.  He  appears  to  have  been 
born  with  the  birth-mark  of  sorrow  and  disappoint- 
ment, and  this  undertone  of  sadness  made  his  life, 

"Statement  made  to  the  author  by  Robert  T.  Lincoln. 

30 


at  times,  most  touching  and  pathetic.  "All  his  life 
long,"  we  are  told,  "he  put  barriers  between  himself 
and  the  world  through  the  medium  of  his  humor." 
Mirth  and  sadness  seemed  to  hold  determined 
contest  for  control,  but  "mirth  and  melancholy  are 
twins  cradled  in  the  hearts  of  all  great  men."  In 
the  case  of  Lincoln  they  grew  together  in  sur- 
passing strength  and  union,  yet  showed  but  little 
trace  of  kinship.  His  cabin  home  offered  but  few 
comforts,  and  his  chief  amusements  were  to  sit  in 
his  mother's  lap,  lean  upon  her  arm  and  be 
caressed ;  taught  of  her  to  read  and  write,  and  sit 
by  her  side  and  listen  to  Bible  tales,  and  the  re- 
hearsing of  country  legends.  His  mother  cautioned 
and  encouraged  him  against  growing  up  in  ignor- 
ance, vice  and  squalor,  and  pictured  to  him  the 
future  he  might  make  for  himself.  These  lessons 
were  well  directed,  carefully  learned  and  faithfully 
observed,  as  the  sequel  of  his  life  fully  shows.  He 
owed  to  his  mother  some  of  the  finest  traits  of  his 
character,  and  the  cultivation  of  some  of  those 
qualities  which  distinguished  him  as  a  man  and  en- 
deared him  to  the  people.  Dr.  Holland  has  said : — 
"She  had  much  in  her  nature  that  was  truly  heroic, 
and  much  that  shrank  from  the  rude  life  around 
her.  A  great  man  never  drew  his  infant  life  from 
a  purer  and  more  womanly  bosom  than  her  son." 
To  her  he  owed,  largely,  his  thorough  knowledge  of 
Scriptures ;  and  he  never  spoke  of  her  without  in- 
voking a  blessing  upon  her  memory.  In  after  years 
he  referred  to  her  as  his  "Angel  mother."  To  his 
father  he  owed  some  of  the  manly  qualities  of  his 
nature,  as  also  his  vein  of  humor  and  his  talent  for 
story  telling. 

31 


Let  the  curtain  here  fall.  We  will  not  here  pause 
to  witness  the  hopeless,  almost  broken-hearted  little 
boy  as  he  stands  beside  the  outstretched  form  of 
his  lifeless  mother.  The  secret  pain  and  sorrow  of 
that  orphan  heart  cannot  be  told.  The  mother  had 
been  taken  sick  with  a  deadly  fever.n  "There  was 
no  physician,"  says  Mr.  Watterson,  "within  thirty- 
five  miles,  nor  a  preacher  within  one  hundred 
miles.  *  *  *  Placing  her  hand  on  the  head  of  the 
little  boy,  nine  years  old,  she  said  'I  am  going  away 
from  you,  Abraham,  and  I  shall  not  return.  I  know 
that  you  will  be  a  good  boy ;  that  you  will  be  kind 
to  Sarah  and  to  your  father.  I  want  you  to  live 
as  I  have  taught  you  and  to  love  your  heavenly 
Father.' " 

In  after  years  Providence  opens  the  way,  and  an- 
other earnest,  wise,  sweet-spirited  and  tender- 
hearted woman  is  to  do  him  service  as  a  mother 
and  a  guide.  How  much  he  owed  to  her  the  world 
may  never  know. 

Note  married  life. 

Hidden  Life  and  Worth  Disclosed. 

Inborn  aspiration,  stimulated,  encouraged  and 
directed  by  this  wise  and  unbroken  maternal  in- 
fluence, from  earliest  childhood  to  manhood,  are 
quickened  in  his  soul  by  the  possibilities  to  which 
applied  industry  and  an  upright  life  may  lead. 

The  boy  dreams ;  he  lives  his  dreams.  He  is  de- 
termined to  know  something  and  to  make  something 
of  himself.  He  weighs  his  talents  and  measures  his 
strength  by  surmounting  obstacles  which  confront 

11  Milk  sickness. 

32 


him,  and  by  conquering  difficulties  in  the  way.  He 
makes  himself  master  of  the  situation  where  occa- 
sion leads,  or  duty  calls,  and  by  shaping  his  course 
and  conduct  always  with  the  standard  of  right  and 
justice. 

The  boy  thus  reared  is  kept  in  touch  with  the 
common  people.  He  reads  and  studies  and  thinks. 
His  soul  becomes  permeated  with  the  principles  of 
the  Government  and  its  free  institutions.  He  cul- 
tivates the  sense  of  justice,  and  has  an  intense  love 
and  sympathy  for  the  people.  He  shares  the  con- 
fidence and  sympathy  of  the  masses.  He  knows 
neither  race  nor  rank,  and  has  a  wonderful  grasp 
upon  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  and  the  character 
and  motives  of  men.  He  has  a  keen  sense  of  the 
wants  and  judgment  of  the  people.  He  becomes  a 
living  proclamation  of  the  declaration,  "All  men 
are  created  free  and  equal."  He  illustrates  in  his 
own  life  the  dignity  of  labor  and  the  nobility  of 
the  COMMON  PEOPLE.  He  stands  for  true  and 
honest  men  and  women  anywhere  and  everywhere, 
who  are  seeking  to  better  their  lives  and  their  con- 
ditions. 

A  priceless  jewel  is  here  in  the  rough.  God  sets 
his  seal  upon  him.  Coming  from  the  common 
people,  born  and  reared  in  the  humblest  walks  of 
life,  God  leaves  him  in  touch  with  the  masses  to 
be  ground,  and  shaped,  and  polished  for  his  high 
and  unique  place  of  honor  in  the  crown  of  Ameri- 
can glory. 


33 


Intellectual  and  Moral  Equipments. 

There  was  something  remarkable  in  the  intellec- 
tual and  moral  life  and  vigor  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
His  school  privileges  were  limited.  It  is  asserted 
that  altogether  his  school  life  would  not  more  than 
equal  one  year  in  our  public  schools.  We  are  told 
that  when  at  school  he  studied  hard  and  was  quick 
to  learn,  and  was  comprehensive,  as  well,  in  his 
grasp  of  truth ;  and  withal  he  had  a  wonderful 
memory.  It  may  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that 
his  mother  was  a  woman  of  more  than  ordinary 
culture  for  those  times.  Largely  she  performed  the 
office  of  teacher  and  preceptress,  and  in  this  was 
far  more  efficient  than  the  itinerant  masters.  She 
died  while  the  boy  was  young;  but  she  lived  long 
enough  to  lay  deep  the  foundation  of  his  moral 
aspirations,  and  the  principles  of  his  character. 
Nature's  gifts  were  sealed  with  a  mother's  hand 
and  a  mother's  heart.  Unsullied  conscience,  per- 
fect honesty,  absolute  truthfulness,  righteous  am- 
bition, gentle  selfcontrol,  love  of  justice,  considera- 
tion and  respect  for  the  rights  of  others,  reverence 
for,  and  obligation  to  God ;  and  all  surcharged  with 
good  common  sense.  These  were  so  carefully  laid 
and  cemented  that  they  remained  as  adamant, 
forming  the  substratum  of  his  entire  life.  When 
President  he  once  said : — "All  that  I  am  or  hope 
to  be  I  owe  to  my  sainted  mother."  With  the 
foundation  thus  carefully  laid,  when  other  means 
failed,  he  became  his  own  professor,  and  as  every- 
where he  mastered  the  obstacles  in  his  way.  For 
lack  of  other  means  he  would  cipher  and  practice 
the  art  of  composition  on  pieces  of  boards,  or  a 

34 


wooden  shovel,  with  a  piece  of  charcoal,  before  a 
spice-wood  fire.  Books  were  scarce  and  difficult 
to  obtain ;  but  such  as  he  could  secure  he  master- 
ed. When  called  upon  to  do  work  where  special 
lines  of  service  were  required,  he  took  it  up  and 
mastered  it.  The  great  Declaration  was  his  hand- 
book, and  the  Bible,  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress 
and  ^Esops  Fablesi  were  his  chosen  companions. 
In  his  case  the  itinerant  preacher  of  those  days 
was  no  small  or  indifferent  means  in  his  education. 
Though  not  instructed  in  the  schools,  he  was  not 
unlearned.  I  hazard  nothing  in  the  statement,  he 
was  a  scholar  far  beyond  the  age  in  which  he 
lived  and  the  people  with  whom  he  mingled.  His 
art  of  expression  and  his  wondrous  power  of  speech 
are  all  attested  in  documents  left  on  record,  and 
speeches  here  and  there  in  public  life.  From  early 
childhood  on  through  life  he  did  not  cease  to  study 
books,  and  men,  the  Nation's  interests  and  the  is- 
sues of  the  day.  Senator  Cullum,  speaking  of  his 
educational  qualifications,  says : — "Lincoln  was  in 
one  sense  the  best  educated  man  of  the  country,  for 
his  mind  was  trained  to  grasp  great  subjects."  It 
would  be  well  for  the  student  of  to-day  to  heed  the 
thought  more  carefully,  that  the  benefit  of  an 
Academic  course  is  more  in  developing  the  talents, 
and  the  training  how  to  think  than  in  the  multitude 
of  facts  acquired.  To  illustrate  Lincoln's  growing 
breadth  of  culture.  He  was  an  ardent  admirer  of 
the  leading  poets,  and  was  one  of  the  best  Shakes- 
pearean scholars  of  the  Iand.i2  As  to  mental  grasp 

12  Lincoln  began  the  study  of  Shakespeare  while  at  New 
Salem,  under  one  Kelso — a  Shakespearean  student  and 
scholar. 

35 


and  keen  discernment,  his  thorough  knowledge  of 
human  nature  is  in  proof.  There  is  no  greater  hu- 
man study  than  man  himself.  The  venerable  Nott, 
long  time  President  of  Union  College,  New  York, 
was  once  asked  what  were  the  three  most  essential 
studies  needful  to  secure  a  knowledge  of  mankind. 
His  answer : — "First  man  himself,  next  the  Bible, 
next  Shakespeare."  Here  Lincoln's  knowledge  was 
of  the  highest  grade,  and  he  proved  himself  a  mas- 
ter of  the  theme.  There  was  great  truth  in  Dr. 
Cuyler's  statement : — "He  was  graduated  from  the 
grand  College  of  Free  Labor,  whose  works  were  the 
Flat-boat,  the  Farm  and  Back-woods'  Lawyer's 
office."  Before  he  became  President  in  1860,  Knox 
College,  on  whose  campus  Douglas  and  Lincoln 
measured  arms  in  one  of  their  great  debates,  con- 
ferred upon  Lincoln  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 
Later,  in  1864,  Princeton  conferred  upon  him  the 
same  degree. 

Want  and  hardship  and  difficulties,  when  bravely 
met,  have  their  compensation.  In  the  case  of  Lin- 
coln, they  sharpened  his  ambition,  and  his  appetite 
for  knowledge,  awakened  to  activity  his  wonderful 
powers  of  mind,  stirred  the  depths  of  his  great  soul 
and  armed  him  with  power  almost  divine.  He 
made  disappointment,  difficulties  and  defeats  his 
friends  to  spur  him  to  greater  energy,  and  fit  him 
better  for  the  ends  and  objects  sought,  and  to  make 
him  worthy  of  the  people's  trust. 


Physical  Strength  and  Courage. 

The  physical  strength  of  Lincoln  was  phenomenal. 
His  parents,  especially  his  father,  had  a  strong 
physical  organization.  Lincoln  himself  was  an 
athlete  of  remarkable  proficiency  and  skill.  It  is 
claimed,  and  with  good  evidence,  that  he  never  met 
his  superior  in  point  of  physical  strength.  As  a 
boy  and  a  young  man,  wherever  he  chanced  to  be, 
he  was  the  leader  in  physical  sports;  but  he  never 
played  the  bully  or  the  braggart.  It  is  asserted 
that  he  could  lift  a  weight  of  twelve  hundred 
pounds.  "Had  he  lived  in  England,  or  Normandy, 
centuries  ago,"  says  Mr.  Arnold,  "he  would  have 
been  the  founder  of  some  great  baronial  family, 
possibly  of  a  royal  dynasty.  He  could  have  wielded 
with  ease  the  two  handed  sword  of  Guy,  the  great 
Earl  of  Warwick,  or  the  battle  axe  of  Richard  of 
the  Lion  heart."is  When  he  became  angry,  which 
was  not  often,  his  nerves  were  as  iron  and  his 
muscles  as  bars  of  steel. 

An  Army  officer  had  been  discharged  for  misde- 
meanor. He  had  repeatedly  tried  to  be  reinstated. 
Finally  he  went  to  the  President,  even  the  second 
time,  and  during  the  interview  insolently  said  to 
him : — "I  see  that  you  are  fully  determined  not  to 
do  me  justice."  The  President,  angered,  deliber- 
ate— arose,  laid  down  his  papers,  took  hold  of  him 
by  the  collar,  and  walked  him  to  the  door  saying : — 
"Sir,  I  give  you  fair  warning,  never  to  show  your- 
self in  this  room  again.  I  can  bear  censure,  but 
not  insult."i4 

"Arnold,  52. 
"Stowe,  58. 

37 


Conversation  and  Story-Telling. 

For  conversation  and  story-telling  Lincoln  has  had 
an  enviable  reputation; — in  conversation  instruc- 
tive and  entertaining ; — in  story-telling  an  adept, 
in  wit,  humor,  sarcasm,  repartee,  invective,  simile 
and  illustration,  he  seemed  almost  without  an 
equal.  Myriads  of  stories  have  been  attributed  to 
him  unjustly  and  without  warrant.  He  is  some- 
times charged  with  telling  stories  coarse  and  in- 
decent. This  charge  is  not  true.  He  had  no  taste 
for  the  low  and  vile.  His  stories  and  illustrations 
always  had  a  point,  and  his  love  for  the  humorous 
was  such  that  if  a  story  was  pointed  he  would 
sometimes  give  it,  even  if  the  outlines  might  seem 
quaint,  homespun,  and  ieven  objectionable  to  the 
prudish.  In  his  "Six  Months  at  the  White  House," 
F.  B.  Carpenter,  painter  of  "Lincoln  Reading  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation  to  His  Cabinet,"  has 
said: — "Every  foul-mouthed  man  in  the  country 
gave  currency  to  the  slime  and  filth  of  his  own 
imagination  by  attributing  it  to  the  President.  It 
is  but  simple  justice  to  his  memory  that  I  should 
state,  that  during  the  entire  period  of  my  stay  in 
Washington,  after  witnessing  his  intercourse  with 
nearly  all  classes  of  men,  embracing  Governors, 
members  of  Congress,  officers  of  the  Army  and  in- 
timate friends,  I  cannot  recollect  to  have  heard 
him  relate  a  circumstance  to  any  one  of  them, 
which  would  have  been  out  of  place  in  a  ladies 
drawing-room."  Dr.  Stone,  Lincoln's  family  phy- 
sician, once  said  to  Mr.  Carpenter: — "It  is  the 
province  of  a  physician  to  probe  deeply  the  inner 
lives  of  men ;  and  I  affirm  that  Mr.  Lincoln  is  the 

38 


purest  hearted  man  with  whom  I  ever  came  in  con- 
tact." Mr.  Seward  once  said  to  Dr.  Bellows: — "Mr. 
Lincoln  is  the  best  man  I  ever  knew." 

Mr.  Lincoln  once  said  to  Noah  Brooks : — "I  re- 
member a  good  story  when  I  hear  it,  but  I  never 
invent  anything  original ;  I  am  only  a  retail 
dealer." 

Judge  Bates,  referring  to  Lincoln's  fund  of  anec- 
dotes, said: — "The  character  of  the  President's 
mind  is  such  that  his  thoughts  habitually  take  on 
the  form  of  illustration,  by  which  the  point  he 
wishes  to  enforce  is  inevitably  brought  home  with 
a  strength  and  clearness  impossible  in  hours  of  ab- 
stract reasoning." 

In  story-telling  Lincoln  had  various  objects  in 
view  at  different  times.  Ordinarily  these  stories 
were  not  told  as  jokes,  or  as1  good  stories  for  the 
sake  of  the  stories,  but  rather  illustrative,  or  to 
sharpen  the  point  of  an  argument ;  to  answer  a 
question,  or  to  expose  the  weakness  on  the  part  of 
an  adversary.  Sometimes  he  told  a  story  or  read 
a  funny  article  to  serve  as  a  friction  saving  oil  in 
the  press  of  overburdening  tasks. — Sometimes  for 
fun,  pure  and  simple,  as  it  might  seem,  but  always 
with  a  point,  in  which  he  seemed  to  lose  himself  in 
the  aptness  of  the  simile  or  the  story.  No  one 
was  likely  to  get  more  enjoyment  and  satisfaction 
out  of  a  story  he  might  tell  than  Lincoln  himself; 
and  his  laugh  at  the  climax  was  so  naturally  his 
own,  and  spontaneous,  that  it  seemed  the  explosion 
of  a  mine  of  humor  which  was  sure  to  become  in- 
fectious. As  in  the  face  of  Lincoln,  humor  and 
pathos  sometimes  strangely  met  in  the  stories  told 

39 


and  the  tasks  to  be  accomplished.  Says  a  recent 
writer: — "Had  Apollo  called  upon  him  there  is  no 
doubt  he  would  have  compelled  him  to  listen  to  a 
story  of  quaint  human  foibles — perchance  designed- 
ly— before  settling  the  affairs  of  some  new  world."15 

On  calling  his  Cabinet  together  to  read  that  most 
important  document, — the  Emancipation  Proclama- 
tion, to  the  wonder  of  some,  he  opened  the  meeting 
by  suggesting  the  reading  of  one  of  Artemus  Ward's 
funnygraphs.  An  Ohio  Congressman,  a  personal 
friend,  called  upon  Lincoln  upon  an  important  mat- 
ter. Before  making  response  Lincoln  began  by 
telling  a  humorous  story  which  semeed  to  fit.  The 
Congressman  arose,  saying: — "I  did  not  come  this 
morning  to  hear  stories;  it  is  too  serious  a  time!" 
"Ashley,"  said  Lincoln  quickly,  "sit  down !  I  respect 
you  as  an  earnest,  sincere  man;  you  cannot  be 
more  anxious  than  I  have  been  constantly,  since  the 
beginning  of  the  War,  and  I  say  to  you  that  were 
it  not  for  this  occasional  vent,  I  should  die!" 

To  illustrate  his  power  of  invective,  (seldom 
used,)  repartee,  sarcasm,  simile,  illustration,  etc., 
a  few  well  authenticated  instances  may  be  noted. 

Joshua  Speed  has  given  us  an  account  of  an  elec- 
tioneering speech  made  by  Lincoln  in  1836.  Lin- 
coln's opponent  was  one  George  Forquer  who  had 
ben  a  Whig  and  turned  his  coat  and  received  the 
position  of  Register  of  the  Land  Office,  and  had 
his  house  rodded  with  lightning  rods.  Forquer  be- 
gan his  speech  by  saying  that  the  young  man  would 
have  to  be  taken  down.  Lincoln  responding,  said : — 
**I  am  not  so  young  in  years  as  I  am  in  the  tricks 

lBGutzon  Borglum. 

40 


and  trades  of  a  politician ;  but  live  long  or  die 
young,  I  would  rather  die  now  than,  like  the  gentle- 
man, change  my  politics  and  simultaneously  with 
the  change  receive  an  office  worth  three  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  and  then  have  to  erect  a  lightning 
rod  over  my  house  to  protect  a  guilty  conscience 
from  an  offended  God." 

Some  wise  men  from  New  York  at  one  time  urged 
him  to  draw  away  Confederate  forces  from  Wash- 
ington by  naval  attacks  upon  Southern  seaports. 
"It  reminds  me,"  said  Lincoln,  "of  a  New  Salem, 
Illinois,  girl  who  was  troubled  with  a  singing  in 
her  head,  for  which  there  seemed  to  be  no  remedy ; 
but  a  neighbor  promised  a  cure,  if  they  would  make 
a  plaster  of  psalm  tunes  and  apply  to  her  feet,  and 
draw  the  singing  down." 

While  sitting  for  the  Proclamation  Picture,  one 
day,  some  newspaper  attacks  upon  the  President 
were  referred  to,  when  he  told  the  following  to  Mr. 
Carpenter :  "A  traveler  on  the  frontier  found  him- 
self out  of  his  reckoning  one  night,  in  an  inhos- 
pitable region.  A  terrific  thunderstorm  came  up,  to 
add  to  his  trouble.  He  floundered  along  until  his 
horse  at  length  gave  out.  The  lightning  afforded 
him  the  only  clew  to  his  way,  but  the  peals  of  thun- 
der were  frightful.  One  bolt  which  seemed  to  crash 
the  earth  beneath  him  brought  him  to  his  knees. 
By  no  means  a  praying  man,  his  petition  was  short 
and  to  the  point, — 'Oh  Lord,  if  it  is  all  the  same  to 
you,  give  us  a  little  more  light  and  a  little  less 
noise." 

A  man  went  to  Lincoln  with  bitter  denunciation 
of  Secretary  Stanton  and  his  management  of  the 
War  Department.  "Go  home,  my  friend,"  inter- 

41 


rupted  the  President,  "and  read  the  tenth  verse  of 
the  30th  Chapt.  of  Proverbs."  (Accuse  not  a  servant 
to  his  master,  lest  he  curse  thee  and  thou  be  found 
guilty.) 

At  the  time  Seward  and  Lincoln  met  the  rebel 
commissioners  at  Hampton  Roads,  February,  1865, 
Mr.  Stephens,  who  was  a  very  small  man,  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  protect  his  frail  body  with 
numerous  coats  and  wraps,  from  the  mid-winter 
cold.  On  entering  the  cabin  of  the  River  Queen  he 
began  to  take  off  his  wraps  one  layer  after  another. 
When  Stephens  had  finally  emerged  from  all,  Lin- 
coln quietly  turned  to  Seward,  saying: — "Seward, 
that  is  the  largest  shucking  for  so  small  a  nubbin 
that  I  ever  saw." 

At  one  time  Lincoln  and  Seward  were  in  an  am- 
bulance on  the  way  to  a  camp  of  the  Army.  Hav- 
ing crossed  the  Long  Bridge  the  mules  and  the  am- 
bulance were  in  the  almost  bottomless  red  mud 
of  Virginia;  the  driver  was  urging  on  the  mules, 
cursing  and  swearing  at  a  fearful  rate,  when  Lin- 
coln protruding  his  head,  said  to  the  driver :  "Say 
driver,  you  belong  to  the  Episcopal  church,  don't 
you?"  "No,  I  don't  belong  to  any  church,"  replied 
the  driver,  "when  at  home  I  usually  attend  the 
Methodist  church."  "Excuse  me,"  said  Lincoln,  "I 
thought  you  must  belong  to  the  Episcopal  church, 
for  you  swear  just  like  Seward  and  he  is  a  church 
warden." 

Early  in  the  War,  Ship  Island,  near  New  Orleans, 
was  taken  by  Federal  troops.  The  General  in  com- 
mand issued  a  somewhat  bombastic  proclamation 
freeing  the  slaves.  Lincoln  took  no  notice  of  it. 

42 


After  a  time  he  was  taken  to  task  about  it  by  a 
friend.  "Well,"  said  Lincoln,  "I  feel  about  that  a 
good  deal  as  a  man  whom  I  will  call  'Jones,'  whom 
I  once  knew,  did  about  his  wife.  He  was  one  of 
your  meek  men,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being 
badly  henpecked.  At  last  one  day  his  wife  was 
seen  switching  him  out  of  the  house.  A  day  or  two 
afterwards  a  friend  met  him  in  the  street,  and 
said:  'Jones,  I  have  always  stood  up  for  you,  as 
you  know ;  but  I  am  not  going  to  do  so  any  longer. 
Any  man  who  will  stand  quietly  and  take  a  switch- 
ing from  his  wife,  deserves  to  be  horsewhipped.' 
Jones  looked  up  with  a  wink,  patting  his  friend  on 
the  back.  'Now  don't,'  said  he,  'why,  it  didn't  hurt 
me  any ;  and  you've  no  idea  what  a  power  of  good 
it  did  Sarah  Ann.' " 

Senator  Wade  of  Ohio  was  a  member  of  the  War 
Committee.  He  once  went  to  see  Lincoln  to  de- 
mand the  removal  of  Grant.  Lincoln  began  in 
reply : — "Senator,  that  reminds  me  of  a  story," — 
"Yes,  yes !" — replied  Wade,  "it  is  with  you  all  story, 
story.  You  are  the  father  of  every  military  blunder 
that  has  been  made  during  the  War.  You  are  on 
your  road  to  hell,  sir!  and  you  are  not  a  mile  off 
this  minute."  Said  Lincoln :  "Senator,  that  is  just 
about  the  distance  from  here  to  the  Capitol  is  it 
not?" 

Lord  Lyons  went  to  Washington  to  announce  the 
marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  He  made  the 
customary  speech.  The  President  responded,  and 
then  taking  the  Diplomat  by  the  hand,  (Lyons  was 
unmarried)  he  said:  "And  now  Lord  Lyons,  go 
thou  and  do  likewise." 

43 


General  Wilson  gives  the  following :  "A  little  time 
before  his  death,  Lincoln,  his  wife,  Wilson — then 
Colonel — and  a  lady  friend,  were  at  Ford's  Theater : 
"Mr.  Lincoln  seemed  to  be  taking  but  little  interest 
in  the  proceedings.  'You  are  not  taking  any  in- 
terest in  the  play,'  said  the  Colonel.  'Oh,  no,'  re- 
plied Lincoln,  'I  came  to  rest.  I  am  hounded  to 
death  by  office  seekers.  Here  I  can  get  a  few  hours 
relief  from  them.'  He  closed  his  eyes  and  I  turned 
to  the  ladies.  Suddenly  I  felt  his  heavy  hand  upon 
my  shoulder,  *  *  *  and  with  his  well  remembered 
sweet  smile  he  said :  'Colonel,  did  I  ever  tell  you  the 
story  of  Grant  and  the  circus?'  No,  Mr.  President, 
I  am  sorry  to  say  you  never  did.'  'Well,  when 
Grant  was  about  ten  years  old  a  circus  came  to 
Point  Pleasant,  Ohio,  where  the  family  resided, 
and  the  small  boy  asked  his  father  for  a  quarter  to 
see  the  circus.  The  old  screw  would  not  give  it 
to  him,  so  Ulysses  crawled  in  under  the  canvas,  as 
I  used  to  do,  for  I  never  saw  a  quarter  when  I  was 
a  little  chap.  The  ring  master  announced  that  any 
one  who  would  ride  the  mule  that  was  brought  in, 
once  around  the  ring  without  being  thrown  would 
be  presented  with  a  silver  dollar.  A  number  tried 
for  the  dollar,  but  all  were  thrown  over  the  mule's 
head.  Finally  the  ring  master  ordered  the  mule 
taken  out  of  the  ring,  when  in  walked  Master 
Grant,  saying,  'I'll  try  that  mule.'  The  boy  mounted, 
holding;  on  longer  than  any  of  the  others  till  at 
length  the  mule  succeeded  in  throwing  the  boy  into 
his  father's  tan  bark,  for  the  old  man  was  a  tanner. 
Springing  to  his  feet  and  throwing  off  his  cap  and 
coat,  Ulysses  shouted  with  a  determined  air,  'I'd 

44 


like  to  try  that  mule  again.'  This  time  he  resorted 
to  strategy.  He  faced  to  the  rear,  took  hold  of  the 
beast's  tail  instead  of  his  head,  which  rather  de- 
moralized the  mule.  The  boy  went  round  the  ring 
and  won  the  dollar.  'Just  so,'  added  the  President, 
'Grant  will  hold  on  to  Bob  Lee.'  Fourteen  days 
later  General  Lee  surrendered  at  Appomattox." 

Intemperance. 

Intemperance  is  one  of  the  greatest  issues  of  our 
day.  This  question  is  forging  itself  to  the  front  as 
never  before.  It  is  enlisting  the  earnest  attention 
of  the  entire  civilized  world. 

A  few  months  ago  the  liquor  interests  of  Illinois 
and  elsewhere  sought  to  shadow  itself  behind  the 
death  mask  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  this  old 
Bacchus  strangely  sought  to  mistake  himself  for 
one  of  the  most  consistent  temperance  men,  in  high 
position,  this  Nation  has  ever  known.  In  this 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  the  precept  and  example  of  both 
father  and  mother.  His  father,  though  from  earli- 
est childhood,  living  in  Kentucky,  where  whisky 
was  exchangable  currency,  never  drank  intoxi- 
cating liquors.  Both  father  and  mother  impressed 
upon  his  young  mind  the  evils  of  intemperance.  In 
one  of  his  debates  with  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the 
latter  charged  him  with  belonging  to  a  temperance 
society.  Lincoln  replied : — "If  the  Judge  means  by 
this,  being  a  temperance  man,  I  may  say,  I  never 
drink," — meaning  intoxicating  liquors.  In  talking 
with  a  lawyer  friend  not  more  than  a  year  before 
his  election  to  the  Presidency,  he  remarked  that  he 
had  never  tasted  liquor  in  his  life.  "What!"  said 

45 


Mr.  Swett,  "do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  never 
tasted  it?"  "Yes,  I  never  tasted  it."  In  1842,  be- 
fore the  Washingtonian  society  in  Springfield,  he 
delivered  an  address  on  temperance,  which  has  sel- 
dom, if  ever  been  surpassed.  In  closing  this  ad- 
dress he  says : — "Let  us  make  it  as  unfashionable 
to  withhold  our  names  from  the  temperance  pledge 
as  for  husbands  to  wear  their  wives'  bonnets  to 
church.  *  *  *  The  demon  of  intemperance  ever 
seems  to  have  delighted  in  sucking  the  blood  of 
genius  and  of  generosity.  *  *  *  He  ever  seems 
to  have  gone  forth,  like  the  Egyptian  angel  of  death, 
commissioned  to  slay  if  not  the  first,  the  fairest 
born  of  every  family.  *  *  *  When  the  victory 
shall  be  complete — when  there  shall  be  neither  a 
slave  nor  a  drunkard  on  the  earth — how  proud  the 
title  of  that  Land  which  may  truly  claim  to  be  the 
birth-place  and  the  cradle  of  those  revolutions,  that 
shall  have  ended  in  that  victory."i6 

All  are  familiar  with  the  incidents  connected 
with  the  reception,  at  Mr.  Lincoln's  home  in  Spring- 
field, of  the  Committee  appointed  at  the  Chicago 
convention,  to  notify  him,  officially  of  his  nomina- 
tion for  the  Presidency.*? 

It  had  previously  been  suggested  to  Mr.  Lincoln 
that  some  kind  of  entertainment,  refreshments, 
wine  and  other  liquors  would  be  needed.  "But," 
said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "I  have  no  liquor  in  the  house." 
"We  will  furnish  it  then,"  was  the  response.  "I 
thank  you  for  your  kind  intentions,"  said  Mr.  Lin- 

16  See  Letters  and  Addresses. — Nicolay  and  Hay,  and 
elsewhere. 

"Memorial  Album.  Charles  Carlton  Coffin,  Remin- 
iscences, (166-167.) 

46 


Talford  Jeffers. 


Charles  C.   Abell.  Almont  J.  Sprague. 


Albert  Laurence. 


J.  L.  Wilkinson. 


F.   B.   Johnson.  Martin  D.  Swan. 

Men  Who  Fought  for  the  Union  in  the  Author's  Regiment. 


coin,  "but  I  cannot  permit  my  friends  to  do  for  me 
what  I  will  not  myself  do." 

After  the  formal  notification  and  the  reply,  "With 
the  utterance  of  the  last  syllable,"  says  Mr.  Coffin, 
"his  whole  manner  instantly  changed."  A  smile,  like 
the  sun  shining  through  the  rift  of  a  passing  cloud 
sweeping  over  the  landscape,  illumined  his  face, 
lighted  up  every  homely  feature,  as  he  grasped  the 
hand  of  Mr.  Kelley.  "You  are  a  tall  man,  Judge. 
What  is  your  height?"  "Six  feet  three."  "I  beat 
you.  I  am  six  feet  four,  without  my  high  heel 
boots."  "I  am  glad,"  replies  Mr.  Kelley,  "we  have 
found  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  whom  we 
can  look  up  to,  for  we  have  been  informed  that 
there  were  only  'Little  Giants'  in  Illinois."  This 
opened  the  way  for  unembarrassed  entertainment. 
"Mrs.  Lincoln  will  be  glad  to  see  you  gentlemen," 
said  the  host.  "You  will  find  her  in  the  other  room. 
You  must  be  thirsty  after  so  long  a  ride.  You  will 
find  a  pitcher  of  water  in  the  Library,"  and  added, 
"Gentlemen,  we  must  pledge  our  mutual  healths, 
in  the  most  healthy  beverage  God  ever  gave  to  man. 
It  is  the  only  beverage  I  have  ever  used,  or  allowed 
in  my  family.  It  is  pure  Adam's  ale  from  the 
spring."is 

Such  a  standard,  on  the  part  of  candidates  for 
high  office,  is  not  common  even  in  these  days  of 
agitation  and  temperance  reform  ;  but  was  far  more 
rare  fifty  and  seventy  years  ago. 

"Lincoln  never  used  liquor  or  tobacco  in  any 
form.  He  is  said  to  have  preached  the  following 

18  See  Dr.  D.  D.  Thompson. — N.  W.  C.  A.,  Feb.  3d,  1909. 
(p.  5-6-133.) 

47 


federate  cause.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  Mrs.  Lin 
coin  was  ever  loyal  to  her  husband  and  to  the 
cause  of  the  Union,  notwithstanding  the  heart- 
throbs for  her  cherished  loved  ones  slain.  Lincoln 
himself  had  relatives  on  the  other  side ;  and  so  did 
many  others  who  fought  for  the  Union.  The  sick- 
ness and  death  of  promising  little  Willie,  too,  fell 
as  heavily  upon  the  mother  as  upon  the  father. 
Surmounting  it  all  came  the  tragedy  of  her  hus- 
band's death,  which  at  last  dethroned  her  reason, 
and  made  the  balance  of  her  life  a  living  death. 
"There  is  nothing  in  American  history,"  says  Mr. 
Arnold,  "so  unmanly,  so  devoid  of  every  chivalric 
impulse,  as  the  treatment  of  that  poor,  broken 
hearted  woman,  whose  reason  was  shattered  by 
the  great  tragedy  of  her  life.  One  would  have  sup- 
posed it  to  be  sufficient  to  secure  the  forbearance, 
the  charitable  construction,  or  the  silence  of  the 
press,  to  remember  that  she  was  the  widow  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  When  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
was  uttering  his  coarse  and  idle  jests  concerning 
Margaret  of  Anjou,  the  Earl  of  Oxford  rebuked 
and  silenced  him  by  saying:  "My  Lord,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  defect  of  my  mistress,  she  is 
in  distress,  and  almost  disconsolate."20 

In  numberless  letters  and  telegrams,  and  in 
countless  other  ways,  Lincoln's  love  and  devotion 
to  his  home  and  family  are  attested.  "In  his  domes- 
tic life,"  says  Bishop  Simpson,  a  close  personal 
friend,  "Lincoln  was  exceedingly  kind  and  affec- 
tionate." His  deference  to  the  wishes  of  his  wife 
was  habitual  with  him ;  between  them  there  was 

"Arnold — 439-440. 

50 


deep  affection  and  the  closest  confidence.  The 
mutual  heart-opening  of  husband  and  wife,  on  the 
last  afternoon  of  his  life,  is  attractive  and  touch- 
ing.21  Miss  Helen  Nicolay,  daughter  of  Lincoln's 
private  Secretary,  tells  us:  "The  President's  atti- 
tude toward  his  wife  had  something  of  the  paternal 
in  it,  almost  as  though  she  were  a  child  under  his 
protection."22 

In  the  Executive  Mansion  there  was  no  place  too 
sacred,  and  no  time  otherwise  too  fully  occupied, 
for  the  presence  of  "Tad"  and  Willie,  and  in  the 
lull  of  executive  duties  he  was  often  their  willing 
play-fellow ;  and  especially  so  with  "Tad"  when 
Willie  had  gone.  Attorney  General  Bates  has  left 
on  record  a  memoranda  touching  the  death  of 
Willie : — "A  fine  boy  of  eleven  years,  too  much  idol- 
ized by  his  parents.  The  Government  departments 
were  closed  on  the  day  of  his  funeral — the  only 
time  perhaps  that  the  death  of  a  child  has  been 
so  observed  in  the  history  of  our  country."23 

The  native  sympathy  and  inborn  kindness  of 
Lincoln's  nature,  always  manifest,  and  especially 
in  his  treatment  of  suppliants  during  the  War,  was 
but  the  outburst  of  his  heart,  the  reflection  of  his 
own  tender  care,  affection  and  consideration  for 

21  In  his  drive  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  after  the  Cabinet 
meeting  (Apr.  14th)  in  which  he  wished  no  one  to  ac- 
company them,  he  said  :  "Mary  we  have  had  a  hard  time 
of  it  since  wo  came  to  Washington,  but  the  War  is  over, 
and  with  God's  blessing  we  may  hope  for1  four  years  of 
peace  and  happiness,  and  then  we  will  go  back  to  Illinois 
and  pass  the  rest  of  our  lives  in  quiet.  *  *  *  We  must 
both  be  more  cheerful  in  the  future.  Between  the  War 
and  the  loss  of  our  darling  Willie  we  have  been  very 
miserable." 

82  Personal  Traits — 205. 

"Personal  Traits — 201. — The  body  of  Willie  was  taken 
to  Springfield  along  with  that  of  his  father. 


51 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF 


his  own  wife  and  children; — the  outflow  from  the 
fountain  head  of  his  own  domestic  sympathy  and 
affection. 

Slavery. 

"O  thou  great  Wrong,  that  through  the  slow-paced 

years, 

Didst  hold  thy  millions  fettered,  and  didst  wield 
The  scourge  that  drove  the  laborer  to  the  field, 
And  turn  a  stony  gaze  on  human  tears, 
Thy  cruel  reign  is  o'er; 
Thy  bondmen  crouch  no  more 
In  terror  at  the  menace  of  thine  eye; 

For  he  who  marks  the  bounds  of  guilty  power, 
Long  suffering,  hath  heard  thy  captive's  cry, 

And  touched  his  shackles  at  the  appointed  hour, 
And  lo !    they  fall,  and  he  whose  limbs  they  galled 
Stands  in  his  native  manhood,  disenthralled. 

"Well  was  thy  doom  deserved ;  thou  didst  not  spare 
Life's  tenderests  ties,  but  cruelly  didst  part 
Husband  and  wife,  and  from  the  mother's  heart 
Didst  wrest  her  children,  deaf  to  shriek  and  prayer ; 
Thy  inner  lair  became 
The  haunt  of  guilty  shame ; 

The  lash  dropped  blood,  the  murderer,  at  thy  side, 
Showed  his  red  hands,  nor  feared  the  vengence 

due. 
Thou  didst  sow  earth  with  crimes,  and,  far  and 

wide, 

A  harvest  of  uncounted  miseries  grew, 
Until  the  measure  of  thy  sins  at  last 
Was  full,  and  then  the  avenging  bolt  was  cast!" 

The  death  of  slavery,  which  Bryant  sings  so 
touchingly  and  so  forcefully,  was  the  logical  out- 
come of  the  War,  as  the  institution  itself  was  its 
fundamental  cause.  In  that  dark  stretch  of  years, 
when  the  mandate  of  slavery  was  "rigid  as  the  will 


Caleb  B.  Smith. 


Simon  Cameron.          Montgomery  Blair. 


Gideon  Welles. 


A.  Lincoln. 


Edward  Bates. 


Edwin  M.   Stanton.         NVilliam   II.   Seward.  Salmon  P.  Chase. 

MEMBERS  OF  LINCOLN'S  FAMOUS  WAR  CABINET. 


of  Fate,"  there  were  those  who  could  not  be  cowed, 
who  shrank  not  from,  the  task,  or  quailed  before 
the  gruesome  plague  of  negro  slavery! — to  such 
belongs  unstinted  honor! — but  to  him — 

"At  whose  command  the  manaclesi  were  burst, 
And  the  sad  slave  come  forth  forever  free." 

to  him,  God's  master  workman,  must  henceforth 
be  given  the  chieftest  honor. 

Lincoln  was  a  consistant  and  uncompromising 
opponent  of  slavery.  This  opposition  was  inborn 
and  life-long,  and  increased  as  the  years  advanced. 
Both  father  and  mother  were  pronounced  against 
it.  One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  their  leaving  Ken- 
tucky was  the  increasing  inflow  of  planters  with 
their  slaves.  A  warm,  personal  and  influential 
friend  of  the  Lincolns  was  Jesse  Head,  a  man  of 
prominence,  and  a  Methodist  minister,  who  per- 
formed their  marriage  ceremony.  He  was  free  and 
outspoken  in  his  talk  and  sermons  on  the  subject 
of  slavery.  Dr.  C.  O.  Graham,  an  old  acquaintance 
of  the  Lincolns  and  who  was  present  at  their  wed- 
ding, has  left  a  memoranda  in  which  he  says : — 
"Tom  Lincoln  and  Nancy,  and  Sally  Bush  were 
just  steeped  full  of  Jesse  Head's  notions  of  the 
wrongs  of  slavery,  and  the  rights  of  man  as  ex- 
plained by  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Thomas  Paine."24 
Thus  generated  and  quickened,  this  birth-right  of 

24  Abe  Lincoln  the  Liberator  was  made  In  his1  mother's 
womb  and  father's  brain  and  in  the  prayers  of  Sally 
Bush  ;  by  the  talks  and  sermons  of  Jesse  Head.  Rev.  or 
Judge  Jesse  Head,  the  Methodist  circuit  rider,  assistant 
County  Judge,  printer-editor,  and  cabinet  maker,  was 
one  of  the  most  prominent  men  there  (Lincoln-Hanks 
wedding),  as  he  was  able  to  own  slaves,  but  did  not  on 
principle." — Dr.  C.  C.  Graham. — McClure,  1806. 

53 


the  future  'Liberator,'  with  proper  care  and  sub- 
sequent culture,  came  to  be  an  inheritance  incor- 
ruptable  and  measureless  in  value,  and  whose 
assets  to  the  Nation  and  to  the  world  have  proven 
to  be  of  incalculable  worth. 

Lincoln  was  not  an  Abolitionist  of  the  school  of 
Garrison,  and  Phillips  and  John  Brown.  Like  Dr. 
Lyman  Beecher  he  did  not  think  it  best  to  burn 
down  the  house  to  get  rid  of  the  rats.  He  was 
none  the  less  determined,  however,  in  his  anti- 
slavery  sentiments.  He  has  most  emphatically  de- 
clared:— "If  slavery  is  not  wrong,  nothing  is 
wrong!"  In  an  address  in  Cincinnati,  in  1859,  he 
said: — "I  think  slavery  is  wrong,  morally,  and 
politically."  In  1854,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Codding, 
of  the  Illinois  State  Central  Committee,  he  said: — 
"I  suppose  my  opposition  to  the  principles  of  slav- 
ery is  as  strong  as  that  of  any  member  of  the  Re- 
publican party."25  AS  far  back  as  1839,  a  strange 
presentiment  seems  to  have  confronted  him,  when 
of  the  slave  power  he  said: — "Broken  by  it  I,  too, 
may  be,  bow  to  it  I  never  will.  *  *  *  With- 
out contemplating  consequences,  before  high 
heaven,  and  in  the  face  of  the  world,  I  swear  eter- 
nal fidelity  to  the  just  cause,  as  I  deem  it,  of  the 
land  of  my  life,  my  liberty,  and  my  love."  "And 
yet  secretly,"  Bishop  Simpson  tells  us,  before  the 
War  was  ended,  "he  said  to  more  than  one: — 4I 
never  shall  live  out  the  four  years  of  my  term. 
When  the  Rebellion  is  crushed,  my  work  is  done."26 

25  You  know  I  dislike  slavery.  *  *  *  I  hate  to  see  the 
poor  creatures,  hunted  down  and  caught  and  taken  back 
to  their  stripes  and  to  their  unrequited  toil,  but  I  bite 
my  lips  and  keep  qniet. — Letter  to  Joshua  F.  Speed. 

MLife  of  Bishop  Simpson. 

54 


The  Hon.  Owen  Lovejoy,  a  radical  Abolitionist, 
who  had  knelt  upon  the  green  sod  that  covered  the 
grave  of  his  murdered  brother,  and  had  there 
sworn  eternal  warfare  against  slavery,  once  said : — 
"I  tell  you  Mr.  Lincoln  is  at  heart  as  strong  an 
anti-slavery  man  as  any  of  them,  but  he  is  com- 
pelled to  feel  his  way.  *  *  *  I  say  to  you 
frankly,  I  believe  his  course  is  right." 

To  confine  slavery  within  the  limits  designated 
in  the  compromise  of  1820  (the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise), meant,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  believed,  its  ultimate 
extinction.27  While  he  looked  upon  slavery  as 
wrong,  morally,  socially,  and  politically,  he  re- 
garded the  Constitution  as  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  Nation,  and  that  the  rights  guaranteed  to 
slavery  under  the  Constitution  must  be  respected. 
The  aim  of  Lincoln  in  the  debate  with  Douglas  was 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  slavery  into  free  States 
and  Territories.  In  that  remarkable  address  de- 
livered in  Springfield,  in  1856,  he  said: — "Let  us 
draw  a  cordon,  so  to  speak,  around  the  slave  States, 
and  the  hateful  institution,  like  a  reptile  poisoning 
itself,  will  perish  by  its  own  infamy.  *  *  *"  He 
spoke  in  Kansas  in  December,  1859.  In  this  speech 
he  declared: — "We  must  not  disturb  slavery  in 
States  where  it  exists,  because  the  Constitution, 
and  the  peace  of  the  Country  both  forbid  it.  *  *  * 
But  we  must,  by  a  national  policy,  prevent  the 
spread  of  slavery  into  new  Territories,  or  free 

Fl  have  always  hated  slavery,  I  think,  as  much  as  any 
Abolitionist, — have  been  an  Old-line  Whig — I  have  always 
hated  it,  but  I  have  always  kept  quiet  about  it  until  this 
new  era  of  the  introduction  of  the  Nebraska  bill  began. 
I  always  believed!  *  *  *  that  it  was  in  course  of  ulti- 
mate extinction.  Speech,  Chicago,  July  10.  2858 — Ad- 
dresses, 2,252. 

55 


States,  because  the  Constitution  does  not  forbid 
us,  and  the  general  welfare  does  demand  such  pre- 
vention." And  again,  in  the  Cooper  Institute  Ad- 
dress:— "In  relation  to  slavery,  as  those  fathers 
marked  it,  so  let  it  again  be  marked  as  an  evil  not 
to  be  extended,  but  to  be  tolerated  and  protected 
only  because,  and  so  far  as,  its  actual  presence 
among  us  make  that  toleration  and  protection  a 
necessity." 

What  to  do  with  slavery  ?28  That  was  the  su- 
preme question.  Was  the  hateful  Octupus  to  reach 
out  its  slimy  tentacles  to  the  separate  States  until 
the  entire  Nation  should  be  within  its  strangling 
grasp?  or  was  some  unseen,  some  unknown  Hercu- 
les to  give  it  battle,  and  strip  it  of  its  power?  One 
or  the  other  it  must  be; — so  thought  Lincoln.  The 
Fates  were  merciful  indeed,  for  none  could  see 
the  awful  drama  just  ahead,  and  none  could  divine 
with  accuracy  the  outcome. — "John,  if  I  ever  get 
a  chance  to  strike  that  institution,  I'll  hit  it 
hard ! !" — The  echo  comes  floating  faintly  from  the 
past!  He  who  spake  abides  his  time,  and  when 
that  time  has  come,  he  is  true  to  his  word.  He  is 
President  now !  Slavery  has  gone  to  war !  The 
Nation  is  in  arms !  The  world  is  looking  on ! ! ! 

It  is  interesting, — marvelous  even,  to  trace  the 
manner  in  which  the  Constitution  of  the  Nation, 
so  long  the  strong  bulwark  of  defense  for  slavery, 
becomes,  in  the  hand  of  a  cautious,  far-seeing,  mas- 
terly statesman,  the  impregnable  tower  of  eman- 

28  Lincoln's  cherished  method  of  ridding  the  Nation  of 
slavery,  and  the  disposition  of  the  purchased  slaves,  was 
compensated  emancipation  and  colonization. 

56 


cipation,  and  the  freedom  of  a  race.29  The  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  was  the  announcement  of 
liberty, — ^Emancipation,  with  its  outcome,  was  the 

29  On  April   6th,   1864,   an   English   anti-slavery  orator, 
Mr.  George  Thompson,  gave  an  address  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.     On  the  following  morning,  Mr.  Thomp- 
son   In    company   with    Rev.    John    Pierepon   and    others, 
called  upon   the   President.      Greeting   them   Mr.    Lincoln 
said  : — "Mr.  Thompson,  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and 
of   the   foreign   government   were    in   one   great   error   in 
reference  to  this  conflict.     They  seemed  to  think  that,  the 
moment   I    was    President,    I   had    the   power   to    abolish 
slavery,  forgetting  that  before  I   could  have  any  power 
whatever,  I  had  to  take  the  oath  to  support  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  execute  the  laws  as  I  found 
them.     When  the  Rebellion  broke  out,   my  duty  did  not 
admit  of  a  question.     That  was,  first,  by  all  strictly  law- 
ful means  to  endeavor  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the 
government.     I   did  not   consider  that   I  had  a  right  to 
touch  the  'State'  institution  of  'Slavery'  until   all'  other 
measures  for  restoring  the  Union  had  failed.     The  para- 
mount idea  of  the  Constitution  is  the  preservation  of  the 
Union.    *    *    *    It  seems  clear,  then,  that  in  the  last  ex- 
tremity, If  any  local  institution  threatened  the  existence 
of  the  Union,  the  Executive  could  not  hesitate  as  to  his 
duty.     In  our  case,  the  moment  came  when  I  felt  that 
slavery  must  die  that  the  nation  might  live.    *    *    * 

"Many  of  my  strongest  supporters  urged  Emancipation 
before  I  thought  it  indispensable,  and,  I  may  say,  before 
I  thought  the  country  was  ready  for  it.  It  is  my  convic- 
tion that,  had  the  proclamation  been  issued  even  six  months 
earlier  than  it  was,  public  sentiment  would  not  have 
sustained  it.  Just  so,  as  to  the  subsequent  action  in 
reference  to  enlisting  blacks  in  the  Border  States.  The 
step,  taken  sooner,  could  not,  in  my  judgment,  have  been 
carried  out.  *  *  *  We  have  seen  this  great  revolution 
in  public  sentiment  slowly  but  surely  progressing,  so  that 
when  final  action  came,  the  opposition  was  not  strong 
enough  to  defeat  the  purpose.  I  can  now  solemnly  assert 
that  I  have  a  clear  conscience  in  regard  to  my  action  on 
this  momentous  question." — F.  B.  Carpenter,  in  Six 
Months  In  the  White  House. 

30  (1)  The  first  draft  was  written  on  board  the  steam- 
boat returning  from  Harrison's  Landing.  July  8th,  1862. 

Cabinet  meeting  called  to  lay  before  the  members  the 
subject  matter  of  the  Proclamation, — having  previously 
resolved  upon  the  step, — on  July  22nd,  1862.  Suggestions 
were  made  by  different  members  of  the  Cabinet,  Mr. 
Chase  thought  it  should  be  stronger  in  reference  to  arm- 
ing the  Blacks :  Mr.  Blair  thought  it  would  cost  the 
Administration  the  fall  elections.  Until  Mr.  Seward's  ob- 
jection was  given  the  others  had  been  anticipated  and 
settled.  Seward  thought  it  would  be  considered  "our 

57 


demonstration  completed.  On  signing  the  Procla- 
mation the  President  said  to  Mr.  Seward  :  —  "If  my 
name  ever  gets  into  history,  it  will  be  for  this  act; 
my  whole  soul  is  in  it."3i  Soon  after  the  issue  of 
the  Proclamation,  Governor  Morgan  of  New  York 
was  in  Washington.  Mr.  Lincoln,  referring  to  the 
matter,  said  :  —  "We  are  a  good  deal  like  whalers 

last  shriek,"  and  should  be  postponed,  —  "While  I  approve 
the  measure,  I  suggest,  sir,  that  you  postpone  its  issue, 
until  you  can  give  it  to  the  country  supported  by  military 
success."  "This  suggestion  was  adopted.  The  second 
draft  of  the  preliminary  proclamation  was  finished  at  the 
summer  residence,  Soldiers  Home.  The  Cabinet  was 
called  together  on  Saturday,  Sept.  20th.  The  Proclama- 
tion was  published  and  signed  Sept.  22nd,  1862,  one  bun 
dred  days  before  the  final  Proclamation." 

(21)  "No    member    of    the    Cabinet    dissented    from    the 
policy  in  any  conversation  with  me."  —  Lincoln. 

(3)  "I  made  a  solemn  vow  before  God,  that  if  General 
Lee  was  driven  back  from  Pennsylvania,  I  would  crown 
the  result  by  the  declaration  of  freedom  to  the  slaves."  — 
Lincoln  to  Secretary  Chase. 

(4)  "The  South  had   been  fairly  warned,   that  if  they 
did  not  return  to  their  duty,  I  should  strike  at  this  pillar 
of  their  strength.     The  promise  must  now  be  kept,  and 
I  shall  never  recall  one  word."  —  Lincoln. 

(5)  "If  the  people  should,  by  whatever  mode  or  means, 
make   it   an   Executive   duty   to   re-inslave   such   persons, 
another,  not  I,  must  be  their  instrument  to  perform  it." 
Annual  Message,  Dec.  6,  1864. 

(6)  "The  Proclamation    *    *    *    as  an  expression  of  the 
spirit  of  the  people,  and  the  policy  of  the  Administration, 
had   become   both   a   moral    and   a   military   necessity."  — 
George  W.  Julian. 

(7)  "There  have  been  those  base  enough  to  propose  to 
return  to  slavery  the  black  warriors  of  Port  Hudson  and 
Olustee,    and   thus  win   the   respect  of  the   masters   they 
fought.     Should  I  do  so,  I  should  deserve  to  be  damned 
in  time  and  eternity.     Come  what  will   I  will  keep  my 
faith  with  friend  and  foe.    *    *    *" 

—  Lincoln  to  Oov.  Randall  of  Wis.,  Aug., 


81  (1)  "As  affairs  have  turned,  it  is  the  central  act  of 
my  administration,  and  the  great  event  of  the  nineteenth 
cen  tury"  —  Lincoln. 

(2)  "The  great  act  of  our  dead  President,  on  which  his 
fame  shall  rest  long  after  his  frame  shall  moulder  away, 
is  that  of  giving  freedom  to  a  race."  —  Bishop  Simpson. 

(3)  "     *     *     *    The   most   sublime  moral   event   in  our 
history."  —  F.  B.  Carpenter. 

58 


who  have  been  long  on  a  chase.  At  last  we  have 
got  our  harpoon  fairly  into  the  monster ;  but  we 
must  now  look  how  we  steer  or  with  one  flop  of  his 
tail,  he  will  send  us  all  into  eternity." 

Those  years,  so  full  of  tragedy  and  of  history, 
suggest  a  Moses,  selected  of  God  and  chosen  by  the 
people,  to  lead  a  nation  from  bondage  to  liberty! — 
and  as  though  on  Nebo's  mountain,  overlooking  the 
Promised  Land, — "On  being  notified  that  the  reso- 
lution in  Congress,  abolishing  slavery  had  passed, 
Mr.  Lincoln,  in  a  speech  for  the  occasion,  said : — 
'The  job  is  finished.  I  cannot  but  congratulate  all 
present,  myself,  the  country,  and  the  whole  world, 
on  this  great  moral  victory.' " 

Reconstruction.32 

The  years  of  reconstruction,  following  the  War, 
was,  and  must  always  remain  one  of  the  great  and 
important  periods  in  the  Nation's  history.  Whether 
the  best  was  done  that  could  have  been  done  by 
the  Government  during  that  pivotal  period  is  not 
easy  to  determine.  Whether  Lincoln  could  have 
done  better  had  he  lived  to  direct,  is  uncertain.  To 
question  minutely  is  to  reckon  without  the  host.  A 
good  deal  of  speculation  has  been  had  as  to  what 
would  have  been  done  had  he  lived.  (Parenthet- 

82  It  is  not  our  aim  here  to  consider  reconstruction  in 
Its  entirety  as  it  stands  in  the  history  of  our  Nation.  It 
is  not  in  place  here  to  review  President  Johnson's  evolu- 
tion on  reconstruction,  from  wholesale  punishment  to 
wholesale  pardon.  Nor  yet  the  bitter  and  long  drawn 
out  controversy  in  Congress,  and  the  consequent  mani- 
fested spirit  in  the  South ;  but  Lincoln's  thought  and 
attitude  on  reconstruction  is  here  sought,  which  in  its 
negative  and  positive  characteristics  must  embrace  an 
investigation  of  views,  rightfully  or  wrongfully  ascribed 
to  him. 

59 


ically,  do  we  bear  in  mind  that  God  who  could 
provide  a  leader  for  the  years  of  War  was  not 
powerless  in  garnering  the  fruits  of  victory?)  At 
the  time  of  Lincoln's  death,  outside  of  general  prin 
ciples,  to  determine  the  work  of  reconstruction  was 
much  like  determining  what  the  War  was  to  be 
before  it  began.  There  were  undetermined  move- 
ments, unforseen  perplexities,  and  unexpected  ob- 
stacles which  had  to  be  met.  It  had  to  deal  with 
human  nature  not  willing  always  to  brook  control. 
It  involved  the  rights  and  the  authority  of  the  Na- 
tional Government,  on  the  part  of  the  North,  and 
the  giving  up  on  the  part  of  the  South  the  cher- 
ished idea  of  the  mere  Confederation  of  States,  and 
the  institution  of  Negro  slavery,  slavery  in  sub- 
stance as  well  as  in  form,  together  with  the  spirit 
and  the  prejudices  these  had  engendered.  It  in- 
volved the  moral,  social  and  political  transforma- 
tion of  the  South,  in  so  far  as  National  integrity, 
human  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  American  citizen- 
ship were  represented  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
declared  valid  at  Appomattox,  and  this  as  over- 
against  States'  sovereignty  and  the  accompanying 
propaganda  represented  by  Jefferson  Davis,  which 
ran  counter  to  the  social,  moral  and  political  prog- 
ress of  the  age.  It  involved  the  consideration  for 
and  the  rights  of  those  in  the  South,  who,  under 
difficulties  most  trying,  bad  remained  true  and 
loyal  to  the  Union.  It  involved  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  four  millions  of  bondmen,  just  out 
from  centuries  of  unrequited  toil,  and  their  right- 
ful avenues  to  citizenship.  It  involved  as  well  a 
new  condition  of  things  for  former  masters,  and 

60 


an  adjustment  to  untried  conditions.  From  a 
human  standpoint  these  things  were,  at  the  best, 
impossible  without  friction  and  discomfort  some- 
where. In  the  hazy  outlook  upon  the  future,  while 
the  War  was  still  in  progress,  some  of  these  matters 
were  being  considered ;  reconstruction,  in  fact,  had 
its  full  share  of  the  President's  thought.  Lincoln 
had  been  noting  the  outlines  and  examining  some 
of  its  intricacies. 

After  Lincoln's  death  a  persistent  effort  was 
made  during  the  reconstruction  period,  and  later, 
to  show  that  his  plan  of  reconstruction  would  have 
been  practically  to  reinstall  the  dominance  of  the 
South,  and  thus — (from  the  Southern  outlook  or 
viewpoint)  have  eliminated  the  hardships  accruing, 
and  the  crimes  committed ; — or  as  Mr.  Gorham  puts 
it: — "An  effort  to  make  it  appear  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
favored  a  loose  policy,  under  which  those  so  lately 
under  arms  against  the  Government  would  be  cer- 
tain of  an  advantage  over  those  who  had  sustained 
it."  To  think  thus  of  Lincoln,  when  National  in- 
tegrity had  been  asserted  and  its  validity  won  in  a 
four  years  war,  is  to  confess  to  ignorance  of  his 
real  character  and  manhood. 

Reconstruction  was  not  the  settlement  of  a  chil- 
dren's quarrel.  Fundamental  truths  and  lasting 
principles  were  involved.  No  one  realized  the  im- 
portance of  things  ahead,  and  difficulties  involved, 
more  keenly  than  did  President  Lincoln. 

When  the  War  was  practically  over,  Mr.  Stanton 
offered  his  resignation  as  Secretary  of  War.  Lin- 
coln refused  to  accept  it,  saying: — "Stanton,  you 
cannot  go.  Reconstruction  is  more  difficult  than 

61 


construction  or  destruction.  You  have  been  our 
main  reliance;  you  must  help  us  through  the  final 
act.  The  bag  is  full.  It  must  be  tied  and  tied 
securely.  Some  knots  slip;  yours  do1  not.  You 
understand  the  situation  better  than  anybody  else. 
It  is  my  wish  and  the  country's  wish  that  you  re- 
main."33 

It  is  idle,  perhaps,  for  us  to  presume  too  much 
what  Lincoln  would  have  done.  We  may  remember, 
however,  that  though  consummated  nominally,  but 
not  in  spirit  altogether,  some  twelve  years  after 
his  death  he  had  much  to  do  with  reconstruction; 
for  his  thoughts,  his  works  and  his  plans  entered 
into  it.  Enough  is  known,  at  least,  to  give  general 
tenor  to  his  probable  course  of  action.  In  1866, 
Charles  A.  Dana,  for  two  years  Asst.  Secy,  of  War, 
wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Arnold  in  which  he  said : — 
"At  the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  a  printed  paper 
was  under  consideration  in  the  Cabinet,  providing 
ways  and  means  for  restoring  state  government  in 
Virginia.  In  that  paper  it  was  stated  that  all  loyal 
men,  white  or  black,  were  to  be  called  upon  to  vote 
in  holding  a  state  convention,  while  all  rebels  were 
to  be  excluded.  I  could  not  affirm  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
had  definitely  adopted  that  policy  with  respect  to 
black  suffrage,  but  that  I  knew  that  his  mind  was 
tending  to  it,  and  I  was  morally  certain  he  would 
have  finally  adhered  to  it."34  in  a  letter  to  Gen- 
eral Wadsworth  before  the  Wilderness  campaign, 
Mr.  Lincoln  said: — "You  desire  to  know,  in  the 
event  of  our  complete  success  in  the  field,  the  same 
being  followed  by  a  loyal  and  cheerful  submission 

"Flower's   Staaton,    310-312; — Rothchild,    286. 
"See  Arnold's  Lincoln,  416. 

62 


on  the  part  of  the  South,  if  universal  amnesty 
should  not  be  accompanied  with  universal  suffrage? 
Now  since  you  know  my  private  inclinations  as  to 
what  terms  should  be  granted  to  the  South  in  the 
contingency  mentioned,  I  will  here  add,  that  if  our 
success  should  thus  be  realized,  followed  by  such 
desired  results,  I  cannot  see  if  universal  amnesty 
is  granted,  how,  under  the  circumstances,  I  can 
avoid  exacting  universal  suffrage,  or  at  least  suf- 
frage on  the  basis  of  intelligence  and  military 
service. 

"How  to  better  the  condition  of  the  colored  race 
has  long  been  a  study  which  attracted  my  serious 
attention ;  hence  I  think  I  am  clear  and  decided  as 
to  what  course  I  shall  pursue,  regarding  it  as  a 
religious  duty,  as  the  Nation's  guardian  of  these 
people  who  have  so  heroically  vindicated  that  man- 
hood on  the  battlefield,  where,  in  assisting  to  save 
the  life  of  the  Republic,  they  have  demonstrated  in 
blood  their  right  to  the  ballot,  which  is  but  the 
humane  protection  of  the  flag  they  have  so  fear- 
lessly defended."35 

Mr.  Lincoln's  idea  of  reconstruction  was  based 
upon  the  assumption  that  the  Rebellion  had  de- 
stroyed the  State  governments  of  States  in  rebel- 
lion, but  not  the  States  themselves.  That  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  requires  that  every 
State  be  guaranteed  a  republican  form  of  Govern- 
ment, and  that  to  make  this  guarantee  good,  United 
States  governments  must  needs  be  established  to 
take  the  place  of  those  State  governments  operat- 
ing under  the  Confederacy.  Reconstruction  must 

36  Carpenter,  Six  Months  in  the  White  House,  pp.  270- 

•  •  .!•• 

63 


begin  at  the  foundation. — "No  man  has  the  author- 
ity to  give  up  the  rebellion  for  any  other  man.  We 
must  simply  begin  with  and  mold  from  disorgan- 
ized and  discordant  elements."  Existing  govern- 
ments in  rebellious  States  must  have  no  place  in 
the  reconstructed  State  governments.  He  thought 
it  unwise  to  have  an  inflexible  rule  for  all  the 
States.  He  did  not  think  it  best  to  discourage  the 
loyal  citizens  of  Louisiana  and  Arkansas  who  had 
framed  legal  State  governments  in  accord  with  the 
proclamation  of  December,  1863.36  An  oath  test 
was  prescribed  for  those  who  might  be  eligible  to 
participate  in  the  formation  of  such  government; 
those,  too,  who  should  be  debarred  from  taking 
part  in  the  formation  of  the  new  government.  Ex- 
ecutive pardon  was  to  be  extended  to  those  other- 
wise eligible,  and  who  met  the  prescribed  require- 
ments : — "But  no  man  in  the  rebel  States  had  any 
right  to  vote  at  that  time  until  he  had  secured  the 
Presidential  pardon  by  taking  the  required  oath." 
And  further  he  says : — "An  attempt  to  guarantee 
and  protect  a  revived  State  government  con- 
structed, in  whole,  or  in  preponderating  part,  from 
the  very  element  against  whose  hostility  and  vio- 
lence it  is  to  be  protected,  is  simply  absurd."  In 
his  address  three  days  before  his  death,  referring 
to  the  proclamation,  December,  1863,  he  said : — 
"I  distinctly  stated  that  this  is  not  the  only  plan 
which  might  possibly  be  acceptable." 

The  amnesty  proclamation  issued  Dec.  8th, 
1863,37  that  of  July,  1864,  the  message  of  February 
llth,  1865,  and  his  last  public  address,  three  days 

3(5  See  Lincoln's  Address,  April  llth,  1865. 
"Letters  and  ad's.,  Vol.  12,  442-444. 

64 


before  his  death,  38  all  abound  in  reconstruction 
ideas,  and  are  worthy  of  careful  perusal,  as  also 
various  other  documents,  directly  and  indirectly 
referring  to  this  subject. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  1865,  at  Hampton  Roads, 
occurred  one  of  the  famous  episodes  of  the  War.39 
Mr.  Seward  bore  the  following  instructions  to  the 
Confederate  commissioners  appointed  by  Mr. 
Davis : — "You  will  make  known  to  them  that  three 
things  are  indispensable,  to-wit :  first,  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Nation's  authority  throughout  all  the 
States ;  second,  no  receding  by  the  Executive  of  the 
United  States  on  the  slavery  Question  from  the 
position  assumed  thereon  in  the  last  annual  mes- 
sage to  Congress,  and  in  preceding  documents ; 
third,  no  cessation  of  hostilities  short  of  the  end 
of  the  War,  and  the  disbanding  of  all  forces  hos- 
tile to  the  Government."40 

38  Letters  and  addresses.  Vol.  2,  672. 

39  The    Hampton    Roads    conference    was    projected    by 
Francis  P.  Blair,  Sr.     Mr.  Blair  procured  a  pass  from  the 
President  to  go  to  Richmond  and  return.     He  went,  how- 
ever, on  his  own  initiative  and  responsibility,   and  with- 
out any  authority  to  act  or  speak  for  the  President.     He 
secured  a  letter  from  Mr.  Davis,  expressing  a  willingness 
and  desire  for  a  conference  looking  towards  relations  of 
peace.      In   the   answer   by   the   President,    "The   explicit 
condition  prescribed  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  note,  sent  through 
Mr.  Blair,  was  that  he  would  only  receive  an  agent  sent 
him  with  the  view  of  securing  peace  to  the  people  of  our 
common  country!"    Mr.  Davis  substituted — the  two  coun- 
tries in  place  of  our  common  country,  and  appointed  com- 
missioners,  though  he  fully  understood  Lincoln's  ultima- 
tum.    (Nicolay  &  Hay,  Vol.  10,  111-112).     Mr.  Benjamin, 
the    rebel    Secretary    of    State    advised    Davis    to    say, — 
"Upon  the  subject  to  which  it  relates,"  but  "he  could  not 
forego  masquerading  as  a  champion,"  insisted  on  his  own 
phraseology,   appointed  the   commissioners,   and   with   ab- 
surd duplicity,   and  sent  them  on  terms   rejected  before- 
hand by  Mr.   Lincoln. — Nicolay  &  Hay,   Vol.    10,   108-112. 
See  Addresses,  Vol.  2,  630-652. 

40  Nicolay  &  Hay,  Vol.  10,  115. 

65 


The  President  joined  Mr.  Seward  at  Fortress 
Monroe.  The  four  hours'  conference  between  them 
and  the  Confederate  commissioners — Messrs.  Ste- 
vens, Hunter  and  Campbell — on  the  River  Queen, 
disclosed  anew  the  frank,  honest  and  kindly  heart 
of  the  President  towards  the  erring  South ;  but  It 
demonstrated,  as  well,  his  uncompromising  atti- 
tude as  to  official  duties  and  personal  dignity.  No 
agreement  could  be  entered  into  which  might,  in 
any  way,  recognize  the  States  then  in  arms  against 
the  National  Government,  as  a  separate  power,  or 
what  would  tend  to  lessen  the  power  of  that  Gov- 
ernment. No  terms  could  be  entertained  or  con- 
sidered which  would  violate  in  the  least  the  great 
cardinal  principles  of  the  Administration. 

Military,  Judicial  and  Executive  powers  were 
sharply  delineated.  In  harmony  with  the  other 
branches  of  authority,  together  with  right  and  jus- 
tice, the  Executive  power,  in  case  of  reconciliation, 
would  be  administered  with  the  utmost  liberality. 

"In  stating  a  single  condition  of  peace,"  said  Mr. 
Lincoln,  "I  mean  simply  to  say  that  the  War  will 
cease  on  the  part  of  the  Government  whenever  it 
shall  have  ceased  on  the  part  of  those  who  began 
it." 

So  far  as  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  a 
judicial  question,  he  would  leave  to  the  courts  to 
decide;  *i  but  'so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  "he 
would  never  change  or  modify  the  terms  of  the 
Proclamation  in  the  slightest  particular."  An 


ttReverdy   Johnson  pronounced  the  act  judicially   cor- 
rect. 

66 


armistice,    in   any   form,   was   absolutely   refused. 
West  Virginia  would  remain  a  separate  State.42 

His  active,  urgent  and  unyielding  efforts  for  a 
Constitutional  amendment  abolishing  slavery 
throughout  the  Union  was  rewarded  by  an  act  of 
Congress,  passed  three  days  before  the  Hampton 

42Nicolay  &  Hay,  Vol.  10.  118-131. 

The  Conference  was  informal.  No  memorandum  was 
made  at  the  time.  No  detailed  report  was  given  by  Mr. 
Lincoln  or  Mr.  Seward.  The  President  reported  to  Con- 
gress the  methods  and  means  and  conditions  and  cor- 
respondence by  which  the  conference  was  brought  about, 
together  with  the  vital  questions  considered  at  the  Con- 
ference. On  their  return  to  Richmond,  the  rebel  com- 
missioners gave  a  brief  account,  written  from  memory,  to 
Mr.  Davis.  Davis  sent  a  message,  embracing  this  report, 
to  the  Confederate  Congress,  with  bitter  and  inflamma- 
tory statements,  showing  his  chagrin  and  animosity.  In 
his  "War  between  the  States,"  Mr.  Stepnens  writes  quite 
fully  on  the  Hampton  Roads  Conference  and  the  discus- 
sions entered  into,  as  also  the  result  of  the  outcome  at 
Richmond.  A  valuable  and  instructive  article,  from  the 
pen  of  Hon.  A.  S.  Colyar  of  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  at  the  time 
of  the  Conference  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Congress, 
appeared  in  the  Self  Culture  Magazine  for  May,  1900 ; 
also  an  article  of  value  in  the  Forum  for  March,  1900. 
From  these  and  other  reliable  sources  we  are  able  to  secure 
a  good  idea  of  the  Conference  Itself  and  Its  effect  upon 
the  South.  An  Inside  view  of  the  hopelessness  of  General 
Lee  and  other  leaders  and  other  authorities  is  open  to  us. 
It  appears  that  Hampton  Roads  Commissioners  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  independence  was  Impossible  for 
them,  and  that  the  South  should  secure  the  best  terms 
possible  for  settlement  and  that  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress, the  lower  house  especially  were  practically  of  the 
same  opinion.  The  authorities  at  Richmond  generally 
were  disheartened  at  the  failure  of  the  Conference.  Mr. 
Davis  was  chagrined  and  exasperated.  He  was  for  con- 
tinuing the  War.  His  bitterness,  defiance  and  treasonable 
spirit  were  at  their  height.  His  bellicose  bravado  found 
titterance  in  most  inflammatory  speeches.  Lincoln  was 
denounced  in  the  bitterest  of  terms,  and  titled  as  "His 
Majesty  Abraham  the  First." 

Upon  the  action  and  course  taken  by  Mr.  Davis,  Mr. 
Stevens  gave  up  the  Confederate  cause  as  hopeless,  with- 
drew from  Richmond,  abandoned  the  Rebellion  and  went 
into  retirement.  His  signature  to  the  brief  public  report 
of  the  commissioners  stating  the  result  of  the  Hampton 
Roads  Conference  was  his  last  participation  in  the  ill- 
starred  enterprise." 

67 


Roads  conference.    Of  this  the  Commissioners  were 
informed. 

On  the  President's  persistent  refusal,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  executive  authority,  or  right,  to  enter  into 
any  agreement  upon  reconstruction,  or  other  like 
matters,  against  rightful  authority,  with  parties  in 
arms  against  the  Government,  Mr.  Hunter  referred 
to  such  like  instances  between  Charles  I.  of  Eng- 
land and  those  in  arms  against  him.  Mr.  Lincoln 
replied : — "I  do  not  profess  to  be  posted  in  history. 
On  all  such  matters  I  will  turn  you  over  to  Seward. 
All  I  distinctly  remember  about  the  case  of  Charles 
the  I.  is  that  he  lost  his  head." 

In  predicting  what  Lincoln's  plan  of  reconstruc- 
tion would  have  been,  much  stress  has  sometimes 
been  laid  upon  the  pronunciamento — These  States 
were  never  out  of  the  Union — and  constructing 
therefrom  an  easy,  tolerant  plan — presumably  Lin- 
coln's— by  which  the  so-called  seceded  States  might 
be  restored,  practically  by  a  wray  of  their  own 
choosing.  The  following  from  the  Christian  Advo- 
cate of  New  York43  is  in  the  point: — "At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  reconstruction  period  immediately 
following  the  Civil  War  there  was  a  disposition  to 
wheel  the  seceded  States  back  into  the  Union  under 
any  pretext,  in  order  to  secure  the  Southern  vote 
for  Andrew  Johnson  in  the  election  of  1868.  Even 
William  H.  Seward  was  infected  with  the  desire. 
'How  many  States  do  we  want  on  the  flag'?  he 
asked.  'Shall  we  not  have  them  air?  'Yes,'  replied 
James  Russell  Lowell,  'as  many  fixed  stars  as  you 
please,  but  no  more  shooting  ones.'  " 

«July  25,  1912. 

68 


Lincoln  was  no  stickler  for  technicalities,  only 
that  just  and  proper  ends  might  be  reached. 

In  the  matter  of  adjusting  reconstruction  accord- 
ing to  the  status  of  the  States,  Lincoln  is  his  own 
best  interpreter.  In  his  last  public  address1,  April 
llth,  1865,  he  says  : — "We  all  agree  that  the  seceded 
States,  so-called,  are  out  of  their  proper  relation 
with  the  Union,  and  that  the  sole  object  of  the 
Government,  civil  and  military,  in  regard  to  those 
States  as  again  to  get  them  into  that  practical 
proper  relation.  I  believe  that  it  is  not  only  pos- 
sible, but  in  fact  easier,  to  do  this  without  decid- 
ing, or  even  considering  whether  these  States  have 
ever  been  out  of  the  Union,  than  with  it.  *  *  * 
Finding  themselves  safely  at  home  it  would  be 
utterly  immaterial  whether  they  have  ever  been 
abroad.  Let  us  all  join  in  doing  the  acts  neces- 
sary to  restore  the  proper  practical  relations  be- 
tween these  States  and  the  Union,  and  each  forever 
after  innocently  indulge  his  own  opinion  whether  in 
doing  the  acts  he  brought  the  States  from  without 
into  the  Union,  or  only  gave  them  proper  assistance, 
they  never  having  been  out  of  it." 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  consider  his 
comments  on  and  approval  of  the  Louisiana  recon- 
struction act.  The  free-State  constitution  adopted 
in  Louisiana  gave  benefit  of  public  schools  equally 
to  black  and  white,  and  empowered  the  Legislature 
to  confer  the  franchise  on  the  colored  man.44 

It  might  be  instructive  for  those  thinking  Lincoln 
would  have  been  loose  in  his  methods  to  remember 
that  in  1866  the  Constitution  of  Louisiana,  adopted 

"State  Tapers,  674. 

69 


In  1869  in  accord  with  Lincoln's  proclamation  of 
December,  1863,  was  pronounced  fraudulent  by 
those  assuming  power  under  Johnson. 

Gleaning  thus  Reconstruction  ideas  of  Lincoln 
it  is  safe  to  note  the  following: 

The  Union  must  be  accepted,  not  as  a  confedera- 
tion of  independent  States,  but  States  inseparably 
united  under  one  general  Government  whose  laws 
and  Constitution  are  supreme. — Rebel  State  gov- 
ernments regarded  as  public  enemies,  not  to  be 
tolerated,  but  to  give  place  to  those  established  in 
accord  with  the  laws  and  Constitution  of  the  Na- 
tional Government.  Until  such  rule  becomes  oper- 
ative, provisional  governments  should  be  estab- 
lished, and  Courts  provided  for  "all  such  parts  of 
insurgent  States  and  Territories  as  may  be  under 
control  of  the  Government,  whether  by  voluntary 
return  to  its  allegiance  and  order,  or  by  the  power 
of  our  armies."  Martial  law  to  govern  until  other 
and  proper  government  be  provided. 

Freedom  for  the  colored  race,  with  guarantees 
of  citizenship  and  proper  elective  franchise. 

Loyalty  and  fidelity  to  the  National  Government 
and  the  Constitution,  including  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  and  the  amendment  prohibiting  slav- 
ery. Pardon  and  amnesty  to  follow  sincere  peni- 
tence, as  shown  by  satisfactory  evidence.  In  his 
own  words :  "When  a  man  is  sincerely  penitent 
for  his  misdeeds  and  gives  satisfactory  evidence  of 
it  he  can  safely  be  pardoned." 

It  was  not  in  the  heart  of  Lincoln  to  retaliate,  to 
confiscate  or  to  make  desolate  unless  the  exigencies 
of  the  case  required  it.  The  spirit  here  manifest  is 
mirrored  in  the  second  Inaugural. 

70 


W.  W.  Perry. 


Frank  J.  Harwood.  R.  N.  Rasmussen. 


E.  Underbill. 


Dr.  J.  G.  Vaughan. 


Louis  Jacquot.  L.  B.  Allan.  Frank  Harrington. 

To  the  Advice  and  Assistnm-o  of  These  Men  the  Author 
Wiahed  to  Offer   Hi*   ThnnkN. 


At  the  shrine  of  Lincoln,  with  nearly  fifty  years 
stretching  out  between  us  and  the  War,  marvelous 
progress  in  the  Nation,  and  strange  events  in  polit- 
ical history  confront  us.  Time  has  somewhat 
dimmed  the  memory.  The  rancor  of  those  crimson 
years  of  war  has  lost  its  keenness.  The  dire  per- 
plexities of  the  reconstruction  years  were  now  for- 
gotten, save  in  the  archives  of  our  history,  but  for 
the  spirit  of  the  ante-bellum  South,  which  some- 
times reasserts  itself  and  brings  to  life  and  recol- 
lection what  the  Nation  had  to  do  to  protect  the 
loyal  and  the  innocent,  and  to  keep  its  plighted 
faith  with  a  race  of  Freedmen;  and  also,  in  its 
long  drawn  out  attainment,  deplorable  but  true, 
recall  to  mind  unprincipled  and  tactless  men  who 
sometimes  found  place  among  officials  appointed  for 
that  delicate,  difficult  and  momentous  work.  But 
to  forget  that  all,  or  the  greater  part  of  Federal 
officials  in  Reconstruction  times  were  not  men  of 
graft  and  greed; — that  "Carpet-baggers"*5  were 

45  "How  maligned  has  been  that  grandest  word  of  the 
age — carpet-bagger.  How  Northern  pen  and  tongue  have 
Joined  with  Southern  tongue  and  pen  In  abusing  these 
martyrs  of  to-day,  chosen  of  God  and  precious.  That 
word  means  your  best  civilization,  carried  by  more  cour- 
ageous souls  than  any  who  bore  arms  In  the  same  field. 
*  *  *  See  your  soldiers  marching  homeward,  and  rest- 
Ing  on  his  laurels — deservedly  resting  on  deserved  laurels. 
What  shall  lift  up  that  despoiled  land?  That  redemption 
must  come  from  without.  *  *  *  See  that  vessel  loading 
in  this  city  for  Hilton  Head  as  soon  as  Beaufort  is 
captured.  See  the  applicants  for  passage  as  teachers. 
See  the  delicate,  the  youthful  men,  the  ministers  and 
teachers  crowding  the  office  and  clamoring  to  go  for 
nothing,  or  the  merest  pittance.  See  aid  societies  or- 
ganizing in  New  York,  Boston,  Chicago  and  elsewhere. 
See  the  host  pouring  in  almost  as  numerous  as  the  host 
that  toas  left.  Bearing  their  carpet-bags,  as  they  their 
knapsacks.  They  plant  schools,  they  build  churches.  *  *  • 
They  are  assailed  with  insult  and  revolver ;  fair  maidens 
insulted  with  every  damning  epithet,  yet  serenely  braving 
all  for  Christ  and  his  poor  children.  O  ye  ribald  revllers 

71 


It  is  safe,  however,  to  believe  that  Lincoln  would 
have  met  the  requirements  of  the  advancing  situa- 
tion as  it  developed. 

Lincoln's  plan  of  reconstruction,  it  is  certain, 
did  not  contemplate  that  unrepentant  rebels  should 
be  placed  in  power  and  control,  or  that  such  should 
help  to  frame  the  laws  and  decide  the  ways  and 
means  by  which  the  wayward  States  might  claim 
full  fellowship  in  the  Nation's  life  and  work.  It 
did  not  contemplate  nursing  treason  in  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  growing  generations.  It  did  not  con- 
template such  like  acts  as  the  rearing  of  a  monu- 
ment of  honor  to  the  monster  fiend  of  Andersonville, 
whose  conviction  of  untold  murders  of  Union  soldiers 
sent  him  to  the  felon's  death.47  it  did  not  contem- 
plate making  sacred  the  flag  and  the  emblems  of  se- 
cession, and  the  opening  for  them  and  their  adoration 
the  hall  of  National  honor.  It  did  not  contemplate 
making  a  farce  of  Donaldson,  and  Shiloh,  and 
Vicksburg,  and  Chattanooga,  and  Atlanta,  of  Bull 
Run,  and  Antietam,  and  Fredericksburg,  and  the 
Wilderness,  of  Cold  Harbor,  of  Petersburg,  and 
Appomattox;  of  Hampton  Roads,  and  Fort  Fisher, 
and  Mobile  Bay.  It  did  not  comtemplate  falsifying 
history,48  and  making  mockery  of  the  tomb-covered 

4TSee  Tragedy  of  Andersonville,  etc. 

48  There  are  women  authors  in  the  South  whose  writings 
are  attractive,  readable,  and  in  ways  valuable,  women 
like  Myrtle  L.  Avey  of  Virginia  and  Mary  Helm  of  Ken- 
tucky, but  whose  pen-picturing  of  reconstruction  in  t>te 
South,  and  the  fancifully  drawn  ideas  of  Lincoln-wov&clr- 
have-been-attitude-concerning-it-had-he-Uved,  has  no  right- 
ful place  in  authentic  history.  This  picturing  sometimes 
reminds  one  of  a  wayward  child  and  an  overindulgent 
parent. 

The  author  once  knew  a  father  who  by  thrift  and 
care  and  the  aid  of  wife  and  children  had  secured  a  sub- 
stantial fortune.  One  of  the  boys  was  wayward  and  had 

74 


field  of  Gettysburg,  and  the  heaven-inspired  words 
of  the  consecration: — "The  mystic  chord  of  mem- 
ory, stretching  from  every  battlefield  and  patriotic 
grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all 
over  this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of 
the  Union  when  again  touched,  as  surely  they  will 
be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature." 

It  did  contemplate,  rather,  the  "Olive  Branch," 
not  as  a  compromise  but  as  a  token  of  ratified  vic- 
tory of  the  Union,  of  enduring  peace  and  of  brother- 
hood, exemplified,  as  it  were,  at  Appomattox.  It 
contemplated  lasting  honor  to  patriots  who  gave 
themselves  to  save  the  Union.  It  contemplated 
that  the  South-land  should  be  "done  forever 

caused  the  parents  and  the  balance  of  the  family  no  little 
expense  and  trouble,  but  all  obstacles  were  surmounted 
and  the  father  succeeded,  *  *  *  The  wayward  child 
came  to  want  and  was  in  distress.  The  father-heart 
went  out  to  the  son.  He  was  invited  back  to  take  his 
place  in  the  home  with  the  sole  conditions  of  parental 
and  filial  allegiance.  The  boy  was  head-strong  and  put 
on  an  air  of  injured  innocence.  He  played  upon  the 
father's  sympathy,  and  suggested  and  even  urged  that  he 
of  all  the  family  was  the  one  best  fitted  to  manage  the 
estate  according  to  his  liking.  The  father  was  persu- 
aded. Without  bonds,  or  guaranty,  or  legal  provisions 
for  the  rights  and  the  care  of  others  In  the  family,  the 
transfer  was  made,  though  marks  of  waywardness  were 
still  in  evidence  to  the  casual  observer. — THE  OUT- 
COME— The  wayward  boy  repentant  only  in  the  seem- 
ing "or  in  spots,"  or  restimulated  to  former  spirit  by  a 
stubborn  disloyal  wife; — the  parents  and  other  members 
of  the  family  were  turned  adrift  with  what  the  re- 
instated boy  and  his  companion  might  choose  to  give 
them. 

To  think  thus  of  Lincoln,  successful  In  saving  a  Na- 
tion, for  whose  integrity  and  safety  he  had  risked  all, 
is  to  misunderstand  the  man  who  parallelled  his  mercy 
and  tender-heartedness  with  commonsense  integrity,  judg- 
ment and  honor.  He  had  the  legal  acumen,  to  demand 
bonds  and  legal  guarantees  of  the  wayward  South  before 
turning  over  to  her  the  National  inheritance.  These 
bonds  and  guarantees  he  did  demand ;  and  there  is  no 
evidence  that  the  strings  of  his  sympathetic  heart  could 
have  been  so  played  upon  that  he  would  have  done  other- 
wise had  he  lived. 


with  secession  ;  —  that  the  children  of  Southern 
veterans,  and  the  children's  children,  forever 
on,  should  keep  the  pledge  their  fathers  made, 
and  swear  anew  devotion  and  allegiance  to  the  old 
Flag  of  the  Nation.  It  contemplated  the  spirit  of 
Watterson  and  Gordon  and  Joseph  Wheeler  and 
Henry  Grady,  and  a  host  of  others,  who  pledged 
anew  the  loyalty  of  the  South,  and  swore  lasting 
allegiance  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  fealty  to 
the  Union. 

Let  the  memory  of  those  dreadful  years  of  car- 
nage;— let  the  graves  of  more  than  a  million 
heroes,  who,  with  no  uncertain  aim,  marched  to 
battle ; — let  Confederate  veterans,  who  furled  for- 
ever the  ensign  of  Secession,  and  then,  with  loyalty 
as  undying  as  our  own,  swore  fealty  and  allegiance 
to  the  Nation  and  its  Flag ; — let  the  intelligence  of 
the  South  which  repudiates  the  antiquated  order 
of  things  in  Government  ;*9 —  let  the  crimes  of 

49  The  South  is  becoming  more  tolerant  of  a  free  dis- 
cussion of  its  past  and  present  policies.  *  *  *  This  new 
spirit  of  liberality  towards  opposing  views  when  expressed 
with  sincerity  and  befitting  decorum  is  perhaps  the 
greatest  incipient  triumph  of  the  twentieth  century  South. 
*  *  *  We  have  reached  the  conclusion  that  calm  history 
will  not  justify,  however  much  it  may  explain,  the  seces- 
sionist movement  of  the  sixties. — Prof.  E.  M.  Banks,  Uni- 
versity of  Florida. 

On  the  fall  of  Richmond,  Juda  P.  Benjamin,  Davis' 
Secretary  of  State,  went  to  England.  When  Davis  was 
running  away,  Lincoln  was  asked,  what  course  he  (Lin- 
coln) would  likely  take  should  Davis  be  caught.  The 
case  reminded  him  of  a  story ; — "There  was  a  boy  in 
Springfield  who  saved  up  his  money  and  bought  a  coon, 
which  after  the  novelty  wore  off  became  a  great  nuisance. 
He  was  one  day  leading  him  through  the  streets  and  had 
his  hands  full  to  keep  c'ear  of  the  little  vixen,  who  had 
torn  the  clothes  half  off  him.  At  last  he  sat  down  on 
the  curb-stone  completely  fagged  out.  A  man  passing  by 
was  stopped  by  the  lad's  disconsolate  appearance,  and 
asked  what  was  the  matter.  'O,'  was  the  reply,  'this 

76 


coon  is  such  a  trouble  to  me ;'  'Why  don't  you  get  rid  of 
him  then  ?'  said  the  gentleman.  'Hush  !'  said  the  boy  ; 
'don't  you  see  he's  gnawing  his  rope  off?  I  am  going  to 
let  him  do  it,  and  then  I'll  go  home  and  tell  the  folks  he 
got  away  from  me!' " 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  murdered,  Charles  A.  Dana,  Assistant  Secretary  of 
War,  had  received  a  telegram  from  the  Provost  Marshall 
of  Portland,  Maine,  that  Jacob  Thompson  was  to  be  in 
that  city  that  night,  and  to  leave  for  Liverpool.  Mr. 
Dana  took  the  dispatch  to  the  President,  after  having 
notified  Stanton,  and  asked  for  orders.  "What  does 
Stanton  say?"  said  Mr.  Lincoln.  "Arrest  him!"  was  the 
reply.  "Well,"  continued  the  President,  "I  rather  guess 
not.  When  we  have  an  elephant  on  hand,  and  he  wants 
to  run  away,  better  let  him  run." — Charles  A.  Dana; 
Reminiscences,  375-876. 

A  prominent  lawyer,  a  friend  of  mine,  once  said  to  me  : 
"It  is  said  that  at  the  Conference  between  Lincoln, 
Seward,  and  the  rebel  commissioners  near  Fortress  Mon- 
roe, that  'Lincoln  took  a  blank  sheet  of  paper  and  wrote 
at  the  top  UNION,  then  handed  it  to  Stephens,  saying : 
'You  may  write  underneath  whatever  terms  you  choose, 
not  conflicting  with  that,  and  I  will  sign  it.'  Is  that 
true,  did  Lincoln  do  that?"  My  reply  was,  "No,  I  think 
not.  It  is  like  many  of  the  stories  attributed  to  Lincoln, 
somebody's  imagination." 

For  this  story,  I  am  sure  there  is  no  substantial  evidence, 
or  warrant  in  fact.  On  the  contrary  what  we  can  glean 
from  that  conference  is  irreconcilable  with  anything  of 
the  kind. 

Presumably,  and  emphatically,  it  would  have  been  con- 
trary to  Lincoln's  way  of  doing  things.  There  was,  be- 
sides too  great  importance  pending  upon  that  Conference, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  corroborate  it. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Conference  it  was  decided  that 
there  should  be  no  notes,  or  record  of  the  meeting  taken. 

While  an  undivided  Union  was  an  absolute  requirement, 
there  were  other  requirements  held  as  Indispensible,  and 
so  named  in  the  President's  instructions  to  Mr.  Seward. 

The  communication  to  Congress  a  week  and  more  later 
bear  no  trace  of  such  a  thought,  or  incident.  On  the 
other  hand  there  is  strong  contradictory  evidence.  Some 
ten  years  ago,  Senator  Tillman  in  an  address  in  the 
Senate  referred  to  this  historic  interview  at  Hampton 
Roads,  and  alleged  the  occurrence  of  the  incident  noted. 
Senator  Vest  of  Missouri,  the  only  surviving  Confederate 
Senator,  in  answer,  said  :  "John  H.  Regan  of  Texas,  the 
only  living  member  of  Davis'  Cabinet,  had  denied  the 
statement,  and  that  he,  Mr.  Vest,  knew,  though  not 
present  at  the  Conference,  that  the  incident  was  without 
the  slightest  foundation,  for  he  had  heard  the  report  of 
Mr.  Stephens  and  Mr.  Hunter  from  their  own  lips  and 
the  details  of  the  Conference." 

77 


Wirz  and  Jacob  Thompson,  and  Jefferson  Davis, 
who  died  "without  a  country,"  because  he  would 
not  take  tbe  oath,  but  left  his  legacy  to  tbe  child- 
hood and  the  women  of  the  South,  whom  he 
charged  to  redeem  Secession,  and  to  rock  anew  its 
cradle ; — let  the  meaning  of  the  War,  with  its  fear- 
ful warning  and  its  victory,  come  back  to  us  from 
the  graves  of  Lovejoy,  and  Crittenden,  and  Doug- 
las, and  Logan,  and  Farragut,  and  Sherman,  and 
Seward,  and  Grant,  and  Stanton,  and  a  host  of 
others; — let  the  spirit  of  our  martyr  chieftain, 
whose  life  and  work  and  character  are  the  Nation's 
treasure,  who  was  the  unyielding  champion  of  Na- 
tional integrity,  who  was  in  harmony  with  the  age 
and  interests  of  an  advancing  civilization,  and  the 
true  course  of  political  and  social  progress ; — let 
these  confront  the  sycophant  and  the  flattering 
eulogist,  who  would  turn  back  the  dial  of  history, 
discredit  the  Nation's  victory,  and  hush  to  silence 
the  patriot  who  objects  to  maudling  sympathy  for 
the  "Lost  Cause,"  and  its  worshiping  adherents ! ! 

Religious  Life  and  Character. 

Lincoln  was  a  believer  in  the  Christian  Religion, 
and  died  in  the  intelligent  acceptance  of  a  personal 

Saviour.  This  assertion  is  made  with  sufficient  evi- 
dence in  proof,  and  in  the  face  of  claims  which 

have  been  made  that  he  was  sceptical,  a  Free- 
thinker, a  Deist  and  even  an  Atheist. 

That  there  were  times  in  the  life  of  Lincoln  when 
he  doubted  we  do  not  care  to  question.  In  this  he 
probably  had  the  experience  of  thousands  of  others, 
and  that  too  without  permanent  detriment  to  his 
religious  character.  A  successful  candidate  for  the 

78 


ISAAC  STEPIIENSON. 
United   States   Senator  of  Wisconsin. 


Presidency  of  one  of  our  Colleges  was  charged  with 
some  kind  of  religious  heresy.  The  writer  knew 
the  man  intimately,  had  been  his  roommate  for  two 
years,  during  our  Theological  studies,  and  was 
quite  aware  of  the  shallowness  of  such  accusation. 
One  of  the  College  trustees  questioned  the  accuser : 
— "Doctor,  did  you  never  doubt?"  "I  never  had  a 
doubt  in  my  life,"  was  the  reply.  "I  pity  you  then 
most  sincerely,"  said  the  official.  Most  men  with 
keen,  logical  minds,  want  reasonable  and  substan- 
tial foundation  for  their  conclusions,  and  not  un- 
frequently  are  compelled  to  stop  and  doubt  on  the 
way.  "There  lives  more  faith  in  honest  doubt," 
says  Tennyson,  "believe  me,  than  in  half  the 
creeds."  The  young  man  Lincoln  came  in  contact 
with  books,so  and  men,  and  things  in  nature,  mys- 
terious providences  of  God,  and  his  own  inner 
thoughts,  which  caused  him  to  stop  and  question 
and  doubt.  But  we  may  not  forget,  Thomas 
doubted  and  refused  to  believe  without  satisfactory 
evidence.  Paul  doubted,  even  to  madness,  as  he 
himself  declares.  But  he  tells  us  how  he  lost  his 
doubts,  and  came  to  recognize  himself  as  a  chosen 
vessel  of  the  Master,  whose  followers  he  was  on 
his  way  to  persecute.  Others,  in  the  early  cen- 
turies, doubted,  who  afterwards  tested  their  faith 
in  horrid  death  struggles  in  Roman  amphitheaters. 
Thousands,  down  through  the  centuries,  have 
doubted,  but  who,  with  doubts  dispelled,  have 
proven  themselves  men  and  women  indeed  of  God. 
Some  of  you  have  doubted,  but  in  spite  of  things 
you  could  not  understand  and  the  subterfuge  of 

'"'Meth.   Quart.   Rev.,   Jan.-Feb.,  1907,  pp.   103-104. 
See  Inshop  Simpson's  address. 

79 


false  profession  and  mere  pretense,  perhaps,  you 
became  anchored,  at  last,  to  the  Eternal  Rock, 
Christ  Jesus. 

From  earliest  childhood  to  his  majority,  Lincoln 
was  in  the  limelight  of  the  best  possible  Christian 
instruction — a  Christian  home  and  a  devout  and 
intelligent  Christian  mother.  Late  in  life  he  said : — 
"All  that  I  am  or  hope  to  be  I  owe  to  my  angel 
mother — blessings  on  her  head."5i  After  he  be- 
came President,  speaking  of  his  mother,  he  said : — 
"I  remember  her  prayers,  and  they  have  always 
followed  me.  They  have  clung  to  me  all  my  life."52 
His  step-mother  was  greatly  attached  to  him,  and 
spared  no  pains  in  her  care  for  his  religious  train- 
ing, and  character  upbuilding.  This  love  and  care 
of  a  mother  were  duly  reciprocated  in  lasting  filial 
regard  and  affection.53 

From  childhood  on  he  was  a  reader  and  a  student 
of  the  Bible.  Says  Mr.  Arnold,  a  life-long  friend 
of  Mr.  Lincoln : — "I  never  yet  have  seen  the  man 
more  familiar  with  the  Bible  than  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. At  the  Executive  Mansion,  the  early  morn- 
ing hour,  while  others  were  at  rest,  was  spent  in 
prayer  and  Bible  reading."54  Says  Dr.  Holland : — 
"I  can  never  think  of  that  toil-worn  man,  rising 
long  before  his  household  and  spending  an  hour 
with  his  Maker  and  his  Bible,  without  tears.  *  *  * 
Aye,  what  tears,  what  prayers,  what  aspirations, 
what  lamentations,  what  struggles  have  been  wit- 
nessed by  the  four  walls  of  that  quiet  room !  There 
day  after  day  while  we  have  been  sleeping  has  he 

MD.  D.  Thompson,  N.  W.  C.  A.,  Feb.  3,  1908,  p.  5,  133. 
62  D.  D.  Thompson,  N.  W.  C.  A.,  Feb.  3,  1908,  p.  5,  133. 
nM.  J.  Evan  Jones — Lincoln — Stanton — Grant,  p.  3. 

M  Arnold's  Album. 

80 


knelt  and  prayed  for  us,  prayed  for  the  country, 
prayed  for  wisdom  and  guidance,  prayed  for 
strength  for  his  great  mission.  *  *  *  The  man 
who  was  so  humble  and  so  brotherly  among  men 
was  bowed  in  filial  humility  before  God.  *  *  * 
A  praying  President!  A  praying  statesman!  A 
praying  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  armies  and  the 
navies !  Our  foremost  man,  our  noblest  dignitary, 
kneeling,  a  simple  hearted  child  before  his  heavenly 
Father !  He  was  a  consecrated  man — consecrated 
to  his  country  and  his  God."55 

Bishop  Simpson,  and  Bishop  Ames  whom  he  had 
known  before  the  War,  were  among  his  closest 
friends  and  counselors,  and  often,  at  his  invita- 
tion at  the  White  House,  they  bowed  with  him  in 
prayer.  His  confidence  in  God  and  in  the  efficacy 
of  prayer,  and  his  individual  consecration  to  God, 
are  well  attested  in  the  account  he  gives  to  Gen- 
eral Sickles,  at  the  hospital,  after  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg.56 

^Orations,  Vol.  19,  8079. 

Literary  Digest,  April  10,  1895. 

68  A  member  of  General  Sickle's  staff,  General  Rusllng 
was  called  to  see  him,  (Sickles,)  and  while  there  Mr. 
Lincoln  called,  with  his  son  Tad.  We  let  General  J.  R. 
Rusling  tell  the  story  in  brief: 

"He  (Mr.  Lincoln)  greeted  Sickles  very  heartily  and 
kindly,  of  course,  and  complimented  him  on  his  stout 
fight  at  Gettysburg,  *  *  *  but  Sickles  was  dubious  and 
diplomatic,  as  became  so  astute  a  man.  *  *  *  Presently, 
General  Sickles  turned  to  him,  and  asked  what  he  thought 
during  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  and  whether  he  was  not 
anxious  about  it? 

"Mr.  Lincoln  gravely  replied,  no,  he  was  not ;  that 
some  of  his  Cabinet  and  many  others  in  Washington 
were,  but  that  he  himself  had  no  fears.  General  Sickles 
inquired  how  this  was,  and  seemed  curious  about  it.  Mr. 
Lincoln  hesitated,  but  finally  replied  :  'Well,  I  will  tell 
you  how  it  was.  In  the  pinch  of  your  compaign  up  there, 
when  everybody  seemed  panic-stricken,  and  nobody  could 
tell  what  was  going  to  happen,  oppressed  by  the  gravity 

81 


The  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  born  in 
prayer,  and  in  consultation  with  such  men  as 
Bishop  Simpson ;  and  its  execution  was  in  fulfill- 
ment of  a  promise  made  to  God  in  prayer.57 

Our  highest,  our  foremost  man  was  not  too  great 
to  ask  advice  of  others,  nor  was  he  too  small  to 
ask  counsel  of  the  King  of  kings. 

"Lincoln  was  a  man  of  strong  religious  convic- 
tions," says  Mr.  McCulloch,  "but  he  cared  nothing 
for  dogmas  of  churches,  and  had  but  little  respect 
for  their  creeds."58  Had  some  of  us  lived  seventy 

of  our  affairs  I  went  into  my  room  one  day  and  locked 
the  door,  and  got  down  on  my  knees  before  Almighty 
God,  and  prayed  to  him  mightily  for  victory  at  G3ttys- 
burg.  I  told  him  this  was  his  war,  and  our  cause  hia 
cause.  *  *  *  And  I  then  and  there  made  a  solemn  vow 
to  Almighty  God  that  if  he  would  stand  by  our  boys  at 
Gettysburg  I  would  stand  by  Him.  And  He  did,  and  I 
will.  And  after  that  (I  don't  know  how  it  was  and  I 
can't  explain  it)  but  soon  a  sweet  comfort  crept  into  my 
soul  that  things  would  go  all  right  at  Gettysburg,  and 
that  is  why  I  had  no  fears  about  you.'  He  said  this 
solemnly  and  pathetically,  as  if  from  the  very  depths  ot 
his  heart,  and  both  Sickles  and  I  were  deeply  touched  by 
his  manner." — Gcril  James  R.  Rusltng. 

Of  course,  I  do  not  give  his  exact  words,  but  very 
nearly  his  words,  and  his  ideas  precisely. 

6TSee  Maj.  E.  A.  Jones,  p.  48;  Raymond's  Life  and 
State  Papers,  p.  765. 

68 Hugh  McCulloch,  Comptroller  of  Currency,  afterward 
Sec'y  Treasury  under  Lincoln. 

"The  church  (in  Springfield)  was  filled  that  morning. 
It  was  a  good-sized  church,  but  on  that  day  all  the  seats 
were  filled.  I  had  chosen  for  my  text  the  words  :  'Ye 
must  be  born  again,'  and  during  the  course  of  my  ser- 
mon I  laid  particular  stress  on  the  word  'must.'  Mr. 
Lincoln  came  into  the  church  after  the  services  had  com- 
menced. *  *  *  I  noticed  that  Mr.  Lincoln  appeared  to 
be  de€ply  interested  in  the  sermon.  A  few  days  after 
that  Sunday  Mr.  Lincoln  called  on  me  and  informed  me 
that  he  had  been  greatiy  impressed  with  my  remarks  on 
Sunday  and  that  he  had  come  to  talk  with  me  further  on 
the  matter.  I  invited  him  in,  and  my  wife  and  I  talked 
and  prayed  with  him  for  hours.  Now,  I  have  seen  many 
persons  converted  ;  I  have  seen  hundreds  brought  to 
Christ,  and  if  ever  a  person  was  converted,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln was  converted  that  night  in  my  house.  His  wife 

82 


years  ago,  or  even  less,  when  churches  were  bat- 
tling with  each  other  over  non-essentials  of  their 
creeds,  and  seemed  to  care  far  more  for  the  letter 
than  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  we  might  have  looked 
as  Lincoln  did  upon  non-essential  dogmas. 

Recent  evidence  conies  to  us,  which  is  beyond  all 
question,  that  years  before  the  War,  even  in  his 
young  manhood,  Lincoln  was  a  converted  man,  and 
that  he  recognized  the  fact.  This  is  the  keystone 
long  lost  to  sight,  but  which  was  thought  must  be 
somewhere  buried  in  the  relics  of  the  years.  It 
completes  the  symmetry  of  a  life  inexplicable  with- 
out it.59 

was  a  Presbyterian,  but  from  remarks  he  made  to  me  lie 
covUd  not  accept  Calvinism.  He  never  joined  my  church, 
but  I  will  always  believe  that  since  that  night  Abraham 
Lincoln  lived  and  died  a  Christian  gentleman." 

60  See  N.  Y.  C.  Adv. 

See  Farewell  address  on  leaving  Springfield. 

"Answer  to  Illinois  Clergymen." 

"Talk  with  Mrs.  Pomeroy,  while  Tad  is  sick,  after 
Willie's  death  ;  talk  with  State  Supt.  Bateman. 

"Mr.  Lincoln  said  in  trembling  voice,  and  cheeks  wet 
with  tears  : — 'I  know  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  hates 
injustice  and  slavery.  I  see  the  storm  coming,  and  I 
know  that  His  hand  is  in  it.  If  He  has  a  place  and  a 
work  for  me, — and  I  think  He  has — I  believe  I  am  ready. 
I  am  nothing,  but  truth  is  everything.  I  know  I  am 
right,  because  I  know  liberty  is  right ;  for  Christ  teaches 
it,  and  Christ  is  God." 

Jacques,  Statement  C.  A.,  Nov.  15,   1909. 

Rev.  James  F.  Jacques,  at  the  time  noted,  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Springfield,  1839,  late 
Pres.  of  Quincy  College,  and  during  the  War,  Colonel  of 
the  Preachers'  Regiment — the  73d  111.  Vols. — See  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  Nov.  11,  1809  and  report  of  the  Eleventh 
Annual  Re-union,  Survivors  of  the  Seventy-third  Regt. 

The  surmise  that  Lincoln  was  an  unbeliever,  hasi  been 
handed  down,  largely,  in  the  Judgment  of  the  author, 
directly  and  indirectly  from  the  representation  of  Mr. 
Herndon,  Mr.  Lincoln's  law  partner.  Mr.  Herndon  was 
a  rank  "free  thinker,"  and  sought,  as  is  shown  in  his 
representation  of  Lincoln's  religious  views,  to  picture 
him  in  this  respect  as  a  man  of  his  own  thinking.  Direct 
evidence  is  all  against  such  representation.  Robert  Lin- 
coln, the  President's  son  modestly  declares  against  It. 

83 


Literary  Style  and  Oratory. 

Four  hundred  years  ago,  under  the  corporate 
management  of  Oxford  University,  Brasenose  Col- 
lege was  founded.  On  the  walls  of  this  historic 
school  there  hangs  today  an  engrossed  fac-simile 
copy  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  letter  to  Mrs.  Bixby  of 
Boston, — "As  a  specimen  of  the  purest  English  and 
most  elegant  diction  extant.  It  is  said  that  as 
model  of  expressive  English,  it  has  rarely,  if  ever, 
been  surpassed." 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1863,  the  Battlefield 
of  Gettysburg  was  dedicated  as  a  National  Ceme- 
tery. Edward  Everett  was  the  chosen  orator,  and 
he  delivered  a  most  scholarly  address.  Weeks  be- 
fore, Governor  Curtain  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
Governors  of  sixteen  other  States,  whose  soldiers 
had  participated  in  the  battle,  urgently  requested 
Mr.  Lincoln,  as  Chief  Executive,  to  be  present,  to 
participate  in  the  ceremonies,  and  to  consecrate  the 
grounds.  President  Lincoln  followed  Mr.  Everett 
with  a  few  brief  sentences.  The  following  day 
Mr.  Everett  wrote  to  Mr.  Lincoln: — "  *  *  * 
Permit  me  to  express  my  great  admiration  of  the 
thoughts  expressed  by  you,  with  such  eloquent  sim- 
plicity and  appropriateness,  at  the  consecration  of 
the  Cemetery.  I  should  be  glad  if  I  could  flatter 
myself  that  I  came  as  near  to  the  central  idea  of 

Being  asked  In  reference  to  this,  he  replied  : — "I  cannot 
undertake  to  verify  any  questions  or  statements  made 
from  authors  of  works  upon  his  life,  and  least  of  all  those 
emanating  from  William  Herndon."  Declining  to  speak 
at  length  ("It  would  take  all  my  time  were  I  to  answer 
all  queries.") — he  referred  to  the  life  of  his  father  writ- 
ten by  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold  as  being  the  best  he  had 
seen  respecting  it. 

84 


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the  occasion,  In  two  hours,  as  you  did  in  two 
minutes." 

Gladstone  said  of  this  address: — "Its  ideals  are 
loftier  than  have  been  uttered  from  a  throne  in  all 
the  annals  of  history." 

After  the  first  Inaugural,  comments  were  being 
made,  and  suggestions  that  Seward  had  to  do  with 
it.  Judge  Jeremiah  Black,  a  man  of  the  highest 
culture,  the  brains  of  the  Buchanan  administration, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  of  lawyers,  said : — "Gentle- 
men, we  have  underrated  the  man  from  Illinois. 
There  is  but  one  man  in  America  that  could  write 
that  document,  and  that  is  not  William  H.  Seward. 
We  shall  find  Mr.  Lincoln  the  brainiest  man  on  the 
continent." 

Of  the  second  Inaugural,  Mr.  Gladstone  said: — 
"I  am  led  captive  by  so  striking  an  utterance  as 
this.  *  *  *  It  gives  evidence  of  a  moral  eleva- 
tion most  rare  in  statesmen  or  in  any  other  man." 
A  prominent  London  paper  at  the  time  pronounced 
that  Inaugural : — "The  noblest  political  document 
known  in  history."  While  Mr.  Emerson  said: — "It 
will  outlive  anything  that  has  been  printed  in  the 
English  language." 

Whence  and  where  and  how  came  that  power  of 
thought  and  speech  which  gives  utterance  to  golden 
sentences  which  have  become  classic,  and  are  pro- 
nounced by  the  best  literary  critics  of  the  world  as 
among  the  few  great  masterpieces  of  human 
speech?  Mr.  Choate  gives  direction  to  our  search 
when,  noting  the  Cooper  Institute  address,  he 
says: — "It  was  marvelous  to  see  how  that  un- 
tutored man,  by  mere  self  discipline  and  chastening 

85 


of  his  own  spirit,  had  outgrown  all  meretritious 
arts  and  found  his  way  to  the  grandeur  and 
strength  of  absolute  simplicity."60 

The  key  that  unlocks  that  mystery  is  not  the 
miracle,  or  some  freak  of  human  nature,  but  the 
genius  of  the  man,  with  native  powers  equal  to  the 
best,  wisely  and  carefully  cultivated,  under  Divine 
direction,  and  kept  in  use.  He  lived  in  vigorous 
contact  with  men  and  events.  These  he  mastered 
and  made  the  truth  a  part  of  himself.  When  he 
wrote  or  spoke  it  was  usually  after  mature  delib- 
eration, and  straight  to  the  point.  Says  Mr.  Choate : 
— "What  Lowell  calls  the  great  simplicities  of  the 
Bible,  with  which  he  was  so  familiar,  were  re- 
flected in  his  discourses." 

Lincoln  took  as  his  literary  model,  and  constant 
study,  his  mother's  gift  to  him,  the  Book  most  read, 
and  the  greatest  masterpiece  of  literature  the  world 
has  ever  known,  the  Bible.  In  his  letters  and  in 
his  speeches  the  spirit  of  the  Bible  was  always 
manifest,  and  its  language  was  at  his  tongue's  end. 
Like  Shakespeare,  too,  he  had  the  grasp  of  thought 
and  human  nature  and  trained  himself  to  speak 
in  the  simple,  clear  and  effective  Anglo  Saxon — 
the  language  of  the  Common  people. 

80  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Choate  has  told  something  of  the  occa- 
sion and  of  the  address  of  Lincoln  at  Cooper  Institute : — 
"It  was  a  great  audience,  including  all  the  noted  men — 
all  the  learned  and  cultured  of  his  party  In  New  York, 
editors,  clergymen,  statesmen,  lawyers,  merchants,  critics. 
*  *  *  For  an  hour  and  a  half  he  held  his  audience  in  the 
hollow  of  his  hand."  After  the  address,  a  Yale  professor, 
who  was  present  and  heard  the  address,  sought  him  out 
at  his  hotel.  He  stated;  that  he  had  been  greatly  inter- 
ested in  listening  to  him  and  was  anxious  to  know  when 
and  where  he  had  acquired  his  marvelous  power  as  a  pub- 
lic speaker.  Surprised  at  being  thus  approached.  Lin- 
coln could  only  answer  that  his  sole  training  had  been 
In  the  School  of  Experience. 

86 


An  incident  for  illustration  may  be  in  point.  Col. 
J.  G.  Wilson  was  dining  with,  the  President,  when 
late  in  the  evening,  Secretary  Seward  and  E.  B. 
Washburn  were  announced.  "Mr.  Seward  said 
'they  had  desired  to  show  the  President  the  large 
gold  medal  just  received  from  the  Philadelphia 
Mint,  voted  by  Congress  to  General  Grant  for  the 
capture  of  Vicksburg.'  Mr.  Lincoln,  approaching  a 
small  center  table  on  which  there  was  a  drop  light, 
opened  the  morocco  case  containing  the  medal  up- 
side down.  After  a  long  pause  Col.  Wilson  ven- 
tured to  remark,  'What  is  the  obverse  of  the  medal, 
Mr.  President'?  He  looked  up  and  turning  to  Mr. 
Seward,  said :  'I  suppose  the  Colonel  means  'tother 
side.'  There  was  no  sting  in  this  and  Mr.  Wilson 
joined  in  the  general  laugh."6i 

A  Wonderful  Era  and  Its  Crisis. 

A  marvelous  era  is  in  forming; — an  era  of  vast 
significance  and  of  world-wide  importance.  Free 
government  is  under  trial.  The  foundations  are 
being  tested,  and  the  whole  world,  with  credulous 
eye,  is  looking  on  to  see  the  experiment.  Through 
somewhat  clarified  skies  we  may  now  look  back 
upon  a  National  drama,  with  the  crisis  of  an  era, 
and  judge  as  we  could  not  when  the  clouds  were 
gathering  and  the  storm  was  bursting  in  its  fury. 

A  Nation  conceived  by  the  wisdom  of  God, 
brought  forth  in  the  pain  and  suffering  poverty  of 
patriots,  cradled  in  the  rude,  but  bounteous  lap  of 
a  new  continent  and  nourished  by  the  wholesome 
truths  of  the  Declaration  of  '76  and  the  Constitu- 

81  Putnam's  Magazine,  February,  1909. 

87 


tion  of  '87.  Rising  from  her  cradle,  she  lays  aside 
her  swaddling  clothes,  looks  out  upon  her  Eastern 
seaboard,  and  adds  to  it  the  Summer  gardens  of 
the  Gulf;  and  in  her  youthful  vigor  steps  out  be- 
yond majectic  water-ways,  touches  the  Rio  Grande, 
crosses  broad  plains  which  touch  the  horizon  at 
every  point;  climbs  mountain  ranges,  colossal  in 
size,  full  of  costly  treasures,  and  which  challenge 
the  world  for  scenes  sublime  and  grand,  then 
crosses  plateaus  and  valleys,  the  very  garden  of 
the  world,  quaffs  the  breeze  of  the  Western  Ocean, 
and  claims  the  better  portion  of  a  Continent  as 
its  own. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  material  outline  of  a  youth- 
ful Nation,  bequeathed  to  us  by  the  fathers,  and 
won  by  her  own  inherent  powers; — a  promising 
child,  with  inner  life  most  vigorous,  with  heart  and 
brain  in  touch  with  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the 
ages,  and  calculated  to  satisfy  the  political  wants 
and  temporal  longings  of  aspiring  humanity. 

Valuable  treasures  and  worthy  ends,  however, 
are  not  easy  to  attain  and  are  sometimes  costly  in 
the  winning.  The  Government  bequeathed  to  us 
was  the  masterpiece  of  the  ages  past,  but  it  was 
not  without  its  inborn  weakness  and  outward  para- 
sites. For  seventy  years  and  more  the  people  had 
to  grapple  with  questions  which  threatened  to  de- 
stroy, and  only  won  at  last  in  the  supreme  fight  of 
history.  Conflicting  ideas  of  Colonial  rights  and 
Federal  control,  which  played  so  large  a  part  in 
the  Federal  Convention  of  1787,  were  nursed  to 
abnormal  strength  by  the  growing  power  of  slavery, 
until  compromise  added  to  compromise,  and  laws 

88 


unsavory  and  unjust  gave  place  to  threats  of  dis- 
union and  the  maturing  plans  of  secession. 

The  Presidential  election  of  1860  precipitated  the 
movement.  The  doctrine  of  State  sovereignty  re- 
asserted itself  and  caused  eleven  states  to  attempt 
secession.  The  innate  and  fundamental  incentive, 
however,  was  the  antiquated  but  cherished  institu- 
tion of  the  South,  Negro  slavery. 

Talents  and  Qualifications  Needed. 

To  meet  the  culminating  issues,  and  to  lead  in 
the  final  conflict,  a  man  of  rare  talents  and  those 
of  the  highest  order  was  needed ; — a  man  fitted  by 
the  keenest  perceptions,  by  the  most  stable  powers 
of  the  intellect,  by  the  best  qualities  of  the  heart, 
by  the  noblest  traits  of  character,  and  by  proper 
education  for  the  work ; — a  man  possessed  of  rea- 
soning powers  of  the  first  order,  but  who  could  so 
control  his  reason  as  not  to  allow  it  to  become  the 
slave  of  feeling ; — a  man  with  singleness  of  purpose 
and  uncompromising  allegiance  to  the  Federal 
Union ; — a  man  in  touch  with  humanity  at  its 
various  points,  and  charitable  for  those  who  might 
differ  with  him  in'  opinion ; — a  man  who  could 
weigh  with  marked  accuracy  the  logic  of  passing 
events,  with  the  foundation  principles  of  the  Gov- 
ernment ; — a  man  with  prophetic  insight  to  grasp 
something  of  God's  purpose  in  the  continued  mis- 
sion of  the  Nation.  For  this  rare  and  perilous 
work  which  meant  so  much  to  the  Nation,  to  the 
entire  world  and  to  the  welfare  of  coming  genera- 
tions, a  leader  proportionate  to  the  work  was 
needed.  A  Wilberforce  in  unruffled  ardor  and  "in- 


tense  fellow  feeling  for  others ;" — a  Columbus  in 
persistency ; — a  Hastings  in  ambition,  but  unsullied 
by  lust  of  gain  or  power ; — a  Phillips  in  devotion 
to  human  rights; — a  Nehemiah  in  wise  and  con- 
servative action ; — a  Hampden  in  honesty  and  de- 
termination ; — a  William  the  Silent  in  sagacity ; — 
a  Winkleried  in  patriotism; — in  political  acumen  a 
more  than  Pitt,  Mirabeau  or  Mazzini ; — in  high 
moral  purpose  and  lofty  heroic  will  a  Gustavus 
Adolphus ; — an  Abraham  in  faith ; — in  statesman- 
ship a  Cromwell,  a  Cavour,  a  Bismark  ; — in  courage, 
integrity  and  justice  a  Washington ; — a  Moses  in 
leadership. 

The  Man,  the  Discovery,  the  Selection. 

God  alone  could  divine  the  man  and  give  direc- 
tion to  the  training.  The  Kentucky  cabin,  the  In- 
diana forest,  the  river  flat-boat,  the  shambles  of 
New  Orleans,  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  the  back- 
woods and  rustic  society,  rude  and  sometimes  boor- 
ish mates ; — the  shoeless  feet,  the  buckskin  pants, 
the  coonskin  cap ; — the  bashful  mien,  the  weeping 
orphan,  the  rollicking  boy,  the  champion  athlete, 
the  sorrowing  lover,  the  pioneer  farmer  lad,  the 
rail  splitter,  the  rural  tradesman,  the  lawyer's 
office,  the  successful  suiter,  the  mirthful  melancholy 
face, — did  not  hide  from  God  the  man  he  wanted. 
In  due  time  the  people  of  the  West  discovered  the 
leader,  the  East  discerned  his  ability  and  the  Na- 
tion selected  even  better  than  it  knew.  No  nation 
in  the  world  can  boast  of  greater  men,  and  greater 
statesmen  than  the  founders  of  our  Nation,  and 
their  successors.  We  are  proud  of  the  record;  but 

90 


it  was  reserved  for  Abraham  Lincoln  to  lead  in  the 
culmination  of  the  conflict  for  free  government  and 
a  united  Nation. 

Promethius  Unbound. 

"Truth  shall  restore  the  light  by  Nature  given, 
And  like  Promethius,  bring  the  fire  from  heaven." 

— Campbett. 

Reader,  you  have  seen,  perchance,  a  captive  eagle 
and  watched  him  looking  out  upon  his  native  ele- 
ment and  struggling  to  be  free.  His  piercing  eye 
turns  here  and  there,  and  upward,  and  then  meets 
yours  as  though  to  beg  your  help  to  set  him  free. 
The  way  at  last  is  open,  the  captive  monarch  moves 
out  into  his  native  air,  looks  around  as  though  to 
thank  his  benefactor,  and  then  moves  out  in  trial 
of  his  powers  of  flight.  He  lights  upon  some  lofty 
tree  and  prunes  his  plumage,  then  soars  aloft  to 
the  distant  crag  and  prunes  again  his  wings  for  an- 
other flight  He  takes  survey  of  his  surroundings, 
turns  witsfully  to  the  mountain  heights,  then  floats 
out  upon  the  air  and  mounts  upward  in  his  flight, 
higher,  and  higher,  and  higher  still,  until  at  last 
he's  lost  to  sight  in  the  blue  of  the  upper  sky. 

So  it  seems  with  Lincoln.  The  splendid  powers 
of  his  remarkable  intellect,  the  noble  qualities  of 
his  great  heart,  the  vigorous  elements  of  his  aspir- 
ing soul,  were  hemmed  in  by  the  environments  of 
his  early  life;  but  little  by  little,  mainly  by  his 
own  exertions,  and  the  opening  ways  of  Providence, 
the  barriers  give  way,  and  a  great  soul,  as  yet 
ignorant  of  its  mighty  powers,  moves  out  upon  its 
upward  flight. 

91 


Statesmanship. 

More  than  four  hundred  years  before  the 
Christian  Era,  Hippocrates,  the  father  of  Medical 
science,  laid  down  this  axiom : — "He  seems  to  me 
to  be  the  best  physician  who  knows  how  to  know 
beforehand  what  will  happen"  This  axiom  of  that 
famous  old  Greek  is  as  true  of  statesmanship  as  of 
Medical  science.  In  our  day  Carl  Schurz  has  said: 
— "Profound  conviction  of  right  and  wrong  is  the 
basis  of  true  statesmanship."  Lowell  declared : — 
"A  profound  common  sense  is  the  best  genius  for 
statemanship."  Abraham  Lincoln  was  pre-eminent- 
ly endowed  with  each  and  all  of  these  qualities. 
Politics,  or  statesmanship,  in  this  higher  sense,  was 
his  native  element.  The  Kentucky  frontier,  the 
Indiana  farm,  the  grove  and  itinerant  meetings,  the 
Boonville  courts,  the  river  and  flat  boats,  the  coun- 
try store,  the  Black-Hawk  war,  the  Legislature, 
and  Congress  even,  were  but  the  stopping  places 
for  him  to  prune  his  marvelous  gifts  and  fit  him 
for  something  yet  to  come. 

Lincoln  the  Lawyer. 

Lincoln  had  not  a  broad  legal  education.  He 
had  not  the  ability  to  handle  the  wrong  side  of  a 
case  as  well  as  the  right ; — nor  had  the  inclination 
to  do  so.  He  hated  sophistry  and  quibbles  and 
crooked  reasoning.  He  would  not  stoop  to  them 
himself  or  tolerate  them  in  others.  He  was  quick 
to  grasp  the  vital  point  at  issue,  and  to  leave  aside 
the  nonessentials.  It  is  a  recognized  fact,  I  believe, 
that  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  a  great  law- 
yer is  his  ability  in  the  statement  of  the  case. 

92 


Judge  Jeremiah  S.  Black  was  one  of  the  great 
lawyers  of  our  country.  Before  the  War  he  was 
trying  a  case  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  Juda  P.  Benjamin,  later  a  member 
of  the  Cabinet  of  Jefferson  Davis,  and  known  as 
"the  Brains  of  the  Confederacy,"  was  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  Going  out  to  lunch  one  day,  one  of  the 
Judges  ,( Judge  Story)  and  Mr.  Black  were  walking 
together.  "Black,"  said  the  Judge,  "That  little 
Jew  will  state  you  out  of  court,  if  you  aren't 
careful."  Lincoln  was  pre-eminent  here.  He  would 
often  state  a  case  with  such  clearness  and  concise- 
ness that  argument  thereafter  was  hardly  neces- 
sary. He  was  unsurpassed  as  a  jury  lawyer,  and 
had  but  few  equals  in  the  higher  courts.  His  lucid 
statements  and  demonstration  of  facts,  illustrated 
often  with  striking  similes  and  pointed  anecdotes, 
together  with  his  unquestioned  honesty,  won  for 
him  the  confidence  of  jurymen ;  while  his  remark- 
able quickness  in  seeing  the  pivotal  point,  avoiding 
unimportant  details  and  freeing  from  technicalities, 
and  keeping  to  the  front  the  vital  points  of  a  case 
were  sure  to  secure  the  weighty  consideration  of 
the  Bench.  He  had  the  moral  instincts,  the  rigid 
honesty,  the  mental  grasp,  the  keen  analysis,  the 
pitiless  logic  of  a  great  lawyer.  And  in  his  prac- 
tice he  rose  as  the  peer  of  the  ablest  in  his  pro- 
fession, and  stood  indeed  at  the  head  of  the  Spring- 
field Bar.«2 

62  He  had  a  clearness  of  statement  which  was  Itself  an 
argument.  *  *  *  He  was  one  of  the  most  successful 
lawyers  we  ever  had  In  the  State. — Judge  Thoa.  Drum- 
mond. 

Frequently  the  Court  would  stop  him  any  say  : — "If 
that  is  the  case,  Brother  Lincoln,  we  will  hear  the  other 
side."  The  strongest  Jury  lawyer  in  the  State. 

93 


Lincoln  was  indeed  a  great  lawyer ;  so  his  con- 
temporaries have  attested  and  so  history  will  ever 
record.  But  even  his  success  and  leadership  at  the 
Bar  proved  but  the  place  to  prune  his  splendid 
powers  for  a  higher  flight  and  a  greater  end. 

He  had  the  ability  to  perceive  with  almost  intuitive 
quickness  the  decisive  point  in  the  case. — Isaac  N. 
Arnold. 

In  order  to  bring  into  activity  his  great  powers,  it  was 
necessary  he  should  be  convinced  of  the  right  and  justice 
of  the  case  he  advocated.  *  *  *  In  all  elements  that 
constituted  the  great  lawyer,  he  had  few  equals.  *  *  * 
He  seized  the  great  points  of  a  case,  and  presented  them 
with  clearness  and  great  compactness.— Judge  David 
Davis. 

He  neglected  details  because  his  thought,  which  "was 
as  direct  as  light,"  passed  instinctively  to  the  vital  spot, 
and  all  else  seemed  unimportant.  "If  I  can  free  this 
case  from  technicalities  and  get  it  properly  before  the 
jury,  I'll  win  it,"  he  used  to  say. — Frederick  Trever  Hill. 

To  illustrate  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  as  a 
lawyer,  Senator  Cullum  has  said  : — "I  knew  Lincoln  from 
the  time  I  was  a  mere  lad,  ten  or  twelve  years  old,  and 
then  before  that  time  I  remember  that  men  came  twenty 
or  thirty  miles  to  ask  my  father's  judgment  as  to  whom 
to  employ  as  a  lawyer  in  important  cases.  My  father 
would  say  to  them,  'If  Stephen  A.  Logan  is  there  employ 
him ;  if  not,  there  is  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Lin- 
coln who  will  do  almost  as  well.' ' 

Says  McKinley  : — "He  frequently  defeated  some  of  the 
most  powerful  legal  minds  in  the  West.  In  the  higher 
courts  he  has  won  great  distinction  in  the  important 
cases  committed  to  his  charge." 

In  his  practice  of  more  than  twenty  years,  we  are 
told,  he  had  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
cases  in  the  highest  courts  of  Illinois  ;  a  record  unsur- 
passed by  his  contemporaries. 

His  knowledge  of  human  nature  played  an  important 
part  in  his  success.  He  tried  more  cases  in  the  eighth 
circuit  (his  own — the  Springfield)  than  any  other  mem- 
ber of  that  Bar. 

Lincoln  had  no  apologies  to  make  for  the  legal  profes- 
sion ;  he  believed  in  his  calling.  He  had  no  patience 
with  the  idea  that  honesty  was  not  compatible  with  the 
practice  of  the  law.  He  once  said  : — "Let  no  young  man 
choosing  the  law  as  a  calling  yield  to  that  popular  be- 
lief. Resolve  to  be  honest,  at  all  events.  If  in  your 
Judgment  you  cannot  be  an  honest  lawyer,  resolve  to  be 
honest  without  being  a  lawyer.  Choose  some  other  occu- 
pation rather  than  one  in  the  choosing  of  which  you  do, 
in  advance,  consent  to  be  a  knave." 

94 


Repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 

When  Lincoln  entered  the  Legislature  of  Illinois 
he  was  a  young  man.  Douglas,  the  idol  of  his 
party,  and  later  known  as  "The  Little  Giant  of 
Illinois,"  was  the  Attorney  General,  and  later  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature.  Years  pass  on,  Douglas  is 
a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate.  The  slave 
power  is  becoming  more  and  more  aggressive. 
Douglas  joins  in  the  issue.  He  introduces  the  bill 
for  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise ; — which 
action  was  designed  to  open  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
for  the  extension  of  slavery. 

This  action  of  Congress  was  the  fateful  turning 
point  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  new 
Republican  party.  Lincoln  is  again  summoned  to 
the  front.  He  leaves  his  law  office  and  joins  in  the 
issue,  hand  in  hand  with  Bissell  and  Lovejoy  and 
Palmer  and  Logan  and  a  host  of  others.  Late  in 
1854  he  is  pitted  in  the  controversy  against  the 
author  and  champion  of  the  act.  He  had  pre- 
viously been  known  as  the  leader  of  his  District, 
henceforth  he  is  known  as  the  foremost  man  of  the 
State.  *  *  * 

Bloomington  Convention. 

In  the  spring  of  1856  the  opponents  of  slavery 
meet  in  State  Convention,  at  Bloomington.cs  "A 
group,"  says  Mr.  Curtis,  "of  earnest,  zealous,  sin- 
cere men,  willing  to  make  tremendous  sacrifles  and 
to  undertake  Titanic  tasks." 

"First  Republican  State  convention,  held  at  Blooming- 
ton,  111.,  May  29,  1856,  composed  of  Abolitionists,  Free 
Soil  Whigs  and  Free  State  Democrats.  Lincoln  a  dele- 
gate from  Sangamon  County. 

95 


Various  theories  were  entertained.  Most  had  set 
ideas  and  clung  to  their  own  specialties  and 
methods  of  work,  and  advocated  such  ideas  as  to 
ways  and  means ; — such  indeed  as  to  augur  dis- 
aster and  threaten  defeat.  While  attending  Court 
on  his  district,  Lincoln  had  been  elected  as  a  dele- 
gate from  Sangamon  County.  He  was  called  upon 
to  address  the  convention.  He  saw  the  danger  of 
discord  and  disunited  ideas  as  to  means  and  meth- 
ods and  the  need  as  well  of  united  and  concerted 
action  to  reach  the  common  purpose.  He  saw  the 
crisis  in  the  history  of  the  Nation  and  sought  to 
harmonize  and  combine  the  humane  and  patriotic 
emotion  of  this  liberty-loving  assembly  of  earnest 
and  determined  men.  He  rose  sublimely  to  the  full 
requirements  and  the  occasion  of  the  hour.  He 
thrilled  the  audience  as  with  a  tongue  of  fire.  It 
was  a  masterpiece  of  oratory  and  carried  conviction 
to  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Here  it  is  said : — "Un- 
der the  influence  of  Lincoln's  eloquence  all  the  re- 
porters lost  their  heads."  I  cannot  refrain  from 
quoting  here  a  few  scattering  sentences  from  this 
speech,  so  long  supposed  to  have  been  lost.  It  gives 
expression  to  fundamental  principles  which  swayed 
his  thoughts  and  controlled  his  political  action  as  a 
citizen  and  to  which  he  adhered  as  Chief  Executive 
of  the  Nation.64 

64  As  one  of  the  delegates  from  old  Sangamon  I  am 
here  certainly  as  a  sympathizer  in  this  movement.  *  *  * 
I  suppose  we  truly  stand  for  the  public  opinion  of  Sanga- 
mon on  the  great  question  of  the  repeal.  *  *  *  We  are 
in  a  trying  time — it  ranges1  above  mere  party  *  *  *  for 
unless  popular  opinion  makes  itself  very  strongly  felt, 
and  a  change  is  made  in  our  present  course,  blood  will 
flow  on  account  of  Nebraska,  and  brother's  hand  will  be 
raised  against  brother.  *  *  *  We  must  not  promise 
what  we  ought  not,  lest  we  be  called  on  to  perform  what 

96 


we  cannot.  *  *  *  We  are  here  to  stand  firmly  for  a 
principle,  to  stand  firmly  for  a  right.  *  *  *  We  have 
seen  today  that  every  shade  of  popular  opinion  is  repre- 
sented here,  with  Freedom,  or  rather  Free  Soil,  as  the 
basis.  *  *  *  We  have  together  in  some  sort  representa- 
tives of  popular  opinion  against  the  extension  of  slavery 
into  territory  now  free  in  fact  as  well  as  by  law,  and 
the  pledged  word  of  statesmen  of  the  Nation  who  are 
now  no  more.  *  *  *  We  are  here  to  demand  and  de- 
termine that  slavery  must  be  kept  out  or  Kansas.  *  *  * 
By  every  principle  of  law,  a  negro  in  Kansas  is  free ;  yet 
the  bogus  legislature  makes  it  an  infamous  crime  to  tell 
him  that  he  is  free.  *  *  *  In  the  early  days  of  the  Con- 
stitution slavery  was  recognized  by  the  South  and  North 
alike  as  an  evil  and  the  division  of  sentiment  about  it 
was  not  controlled  by  geographical  lines  or  consideration 
of  climate,  but  by  moral  and  philosophical  principle. 

*  *   *      In   Kentucky — my   native    State — In    1849,    on    a 
test   vote,  *  *   *  the    State   of   Boone,   and   Hardin,    and 
Henry    Clay,    with    a   nigger    under   each    arm,    took    the 
black  trail  to  the  deadly  swamp  of  barbarism.     Is  there, 
can    there   be   any    doubt?  *  *   *      Can    any    man    doubt 
that,  even  in  spite  of  the  people's  will,  slavery  will  tri- 
umph through  violence,  unless  that  will  be  made  manifest 
and   enforced?  *   *   *      The    battle    o*   freedom    is    to    be 
fought  out  on  principle.      Slavery   is   a  violation   of   the 
eternal    right.      We    have    temporized    with    it    from    the 
necessity  of  our   condition ;    but   as   sure   as   God   reigns 
and  school  children  read,  THAT  BLACK  FOUL  LIE  CAN 
NEVER  BE   CONSECRATED  INTO  GOD'S   HALLOWED 
TRUTH.  *   *   *      Can   we   as   Christian   m<en,   and   strong 
and    free    ourselves,    wield   the    sledge   or    hold    the    iron 
which  is  to  manacle  anew  an  already  oppressed  race? 

The  Union  is  undergoing  a  fearful  strain,  but  it  is  a 
stout  old  ship,  and  has  weathered  many  a  hard  blow, 
and  "the  stars  in  their  courses,"  aye  and  invisible  power, 
greater  than  the  puny  efforts  of  men,  will  fight  for  us. 
Let  us  revere  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  let  us 
continue  to  obey,  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  ;  let  us 
keep  step  to  the  music  of  the  Union ;  let  us  draw  a 
cordon,  so  to  speak,  around  the  slave  States,  and  the 
hateful  institution,  like  a  reptile  poisoning  itself,  will 
perish  by  its  own  infamy.  *  *  *  We  must  reinstate  the 
birthday  promise  of  the  Republic.  We  must  reaffirm  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  We  must  make  good  in 
essence  as  well  as  in  form  Madison's  avowal  that  the 
word  slave  ought  not  to  appear  in  the  Constitution. 

*  *   *     But  in  seeking  to  attain  these  results,   so  indis- 
pensable, if  the  liberty  which  is  our  pride  and  boast  shall 
endure,  we  will  be  loyal  to  the  Constitution  and  to  the 
"Flag  of  the  Union,"  no  matter  what  our  grievance,  even 
though  Kansas  shall   come   in  as  a  slave   State;   and  no 
matter   what   theirs — even   though    we   restore   the   Com- 
promise— WE    WILL    SAY    TO    THE    SOUTHERN    DIS- 
UNIONISTS  :      WE     WILL     NOT     GO     OUT     OF     THE 

97 


Dred  Scott  Decision  and  Popular  Sovereignty. 

Soon  after  the  inauguration  of  President  Buchan- 
an, followed  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
the  Dred  Scott  case,  which  decision  carried  with  it 
the  view   that  Congress   itself  could  not  prohibit 
slavery  in  the  Territories, — as  Bancroft  puts  it: — 
"The  Chief  Justice  volunteers  to  come  to  the  rescue 
of  slavery,"  while  Buchanan  himself  gives  his  en- 
dorsement that : — "Kansas  is  as  much  a  slave  State 
as  South  Carolina  or  Georgia ; — slavery  by  virtue 
of  the  Constitution  exists  in  every  Territory."    The 
danger  signal  is  thus  fully  unfurled.    Douglas  finds 
it  necessary  to  attempt  reconciliation  between  this 
decision    and    his    pronounced    ideas    of    Popular 
Sovereignty.    To  this  end  he  returned  from  Wash- 
ington    July  1st  and  made  elaborate  addresses  on 
the  subject  at   Springfield   and   elsewhere.     Then 
came  the  determined  effort  of  the  President  to  force 
Kansas  into  the  Union  as  a  slave  state  under  the 
bogus   Lecompton    constitution.      To   this   Douglas 
shrewdly  and  strenuously  objected  and  worthily  led 
the  opposition  in  the  United  States  Senate.     Lin- 
coln had  watched  the  progress  of  affairs,  carefully 
measured  the  trend  and  logical  outcome  and  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  battle.     At  the  Republican 
State  convention  at  Springfield  in  June,  1858,  where 
he  was  declared  to  be  the  first  and  only  choice  of 
the  convention  for  United  States  Senator,  he  gave 
his  famous  speech  "A  House  divided  against  itself." 
*    *    *    "I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure 

UNION,  AND  YOU  SHAN'T!!!  *  *  *  Our  moderation 
and  forbearance  will  stand  us  in  good  stead  when  if 
ever,  WE  MUST  MAKE  AN  APPEAL  TO  BATTLE,  AND 
TO  THE  GOD  OF  HOSTS  !  !  ! 

98 


half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union 
is  to  be  dissolved — I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall 
— but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be  divided.  *  *  *" 
These  stentorian  notes  went  forth  through  the  land 
and  evoked  wide-spread  response.  Shortly  after  he 
was  invited  to  be  present  at  Clinton,  where  Doug- 
las was  to  speak.  An  immense  crowd  had  gathered. 
The  speaker  was  ingenius,  evasive,  forcible.  He  re- 
ferred to  Lincoln's  Springfield  address  in  a  slurring 
and  critical  manner.  At  the  close  there  were  loud 
cries  for  Lincoln,  and  upon  the  urgent  request  of 
the  audience,  he  consented  to  speak  in  reply  in 
the  evening  on  the  Court  House  square  which  he 
did.  The  address  throughout  was  logical  and  con- 
vincing. The  closing  sentence  I  may  quote  as  a 
declaration  of  lofty  and  inherent  American  States- 
manship. "Judge  Douglas  charges  me  with  being 
in  favor  of  Negro  equality,  and  to  the  extent  that 
he  charges  me  I  am  not  guilty.  I  am  guilty  of 
hating  servitude  and  loving  freedom ;  and  while  I 
would  not  carry  the  equality  of  the  races  to  the  ex- 
tent charged  by  my  adversary,  I  am  happy  to  con- 
fess before  you  that  in  some  things  the  black  man 
is  equal  to  the  white.  In  the  right  to  eat  the  bread 
his  own  hands  have  earned  he  is  the  equal  of  Judge 
Douglas  or  any  other  living  man." 

Lincoln-Douglas  Debate. 

In  August,  '58,  Lincoln  and  Douglas  meet  in 
forensic  debate  on  "Squatter  Sovereignty"  the  pre- 
lude of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  The  platform  of 
the  debate  was  Lincoln's  Springfield  address.  The 
debate  has  come  down  to  us  without  a  parallel  in 
its  kind,  and  as  one  of  the  greatest  events  in  Polit- 

99 


ical  history.  These  speeches  of  Lincoln  easily  stand 
amonj*  the  masterpieces  of  popular  oratory  and 
groundwork  of  American  statesmanship.  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  was  a  statesman.  He  had  few  equals 
and  perhaps  no  superior  as  a  debater,  and  on  the 
hustings.  They  enter  the  arena  as  contestants  for 
the  United  States  Senate..  It  was  a  battle  of 
giants.  The  debate  began  at  Ottawa,  and  at  Free- 
port  Lincoln  puts  to  Douglas  the  pivotal  question 
on  Territorial  rights  to  exclude  slavery .65  Friends 
of  Lincoln  had  previously  cautioned  him  against 
this  interrogatory,  saying: — "If  you  do  you  can 
never  be  Senator."  "Gentlemen,"  replied  Lincoln, 
"I  am  killing  larger  game ;  if  Douglas  answers  he 
can  never  be  President,  and  the  battle  of  1860  is 
worth  a  hundred  of  this."  Two  years  later  the  pre- 
diction came  true.  This  irksome  question  showed 
the  shrewdness  and  the  foresight  of  the  statesman 
and  resulted  in  the  division  of  Douglas'  party  and 
the  election  of  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency  in  1860. 

Mr.  Watterson  refers  to  the  debate  as : — "The 
most  extraordinary  spectacle  the  annals  of  our 
party  warfare  affords.  Lincoln  enters  the  canvas 
unknown  outside  the  State  of  Illinois.  He  closed 
it  renowned  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other. 
*  *  *  He  followed  this  central  shot,"  continues  Mr. 
Watterson,  "with  volley  after  volley,  of  exposition 
so  clear,  of  reasoning  so  close,  of  illustration  so 

66  "Can  the  people  of  a  United  States  Territory,  in  any 
lawful  way,  against  the  wishes  of  any  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  exclude  slavery  from  its  limits,  prior  to 
the  formation  of  a  State  Constitution"  ? 

Lincoln  is  said  to  have  characterized  Douglas'  reply 
as  follows  :  "It  is  thinner  that  homeopathic  soup  made 
of  the  boiled  shadow  of  a  Pigeon  that  has  died  of  star- 
vation." 

100 


pointed,  at  times  with  humor  so  incisive,  that 
though  he  lost  the  election,  his  defeat  counted  far 
more  than  Douglas'  victory;  for  it  made  him  the 
logical  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States  two  years  later."  This  deduction,  as  to  re- 
sults, was  certainly  true  as  to  the  West,  and  he 
was  thus  favorably  introduced  to  the  East  On  his 
return  to  Washington,  Douglas  said  to  Mr.  Watter- 
son: — "He,"  (Lincoln,)  "is  the  greatest  debater  I 
have  ever  met  either  here  or  anywhere  else." 
After  his  election  to  the  Presidency  Douglas  said 
to  a  group  of  Republican  statesmen: — "Gentlemen, 
you  certainly  have  selected  a  very  able  and  a  very 
honest  man." 

His  speech  at  Cooper  Institute  was  universally 
recognized  as  a  masterpiece  of  oratory  and  political 
logic.  Says  Mr.  Choate: — "That  wonderful  speech 
led  directly  to  his  nomination  and  election  as  Presi- 
dent. *  *  *  'Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes 
might,'  that  closing  sentence  rang  through  the  city 
and  the  country."66 

In  his  way  upward,  Lincoln  never  resorted  to  the 
tricks  of  trade,  legal,  political  or  otherwise.  He 
never  acted  the  part  of  a  demagogue;  he  treated 
his  opponents  with  fairness  and  consideration !  He 
never  forgot  the  kindness  and  services  of  friends, 
and  never  turned  his  back  upon  them.  He  never 
sought  to  win  by  disparaging  his  opponents.67  He 

88  J.  H.  Choate — Abraham  Lincoln. 

""Twenty  years  ago,  Judge  Douglas  and  I  first  be- 
came acquainted  ;  we  were  both  young  then  ;  he  is  a  trifle 
younger  than  I.  Even  then  we  were  both  ambitious,  I, 
perhaps,  quite  as  much  as  he.  With  me  the  race  of  am- 
bition has  been  a  flat  failure.  With  him  it  has  been  a 
splendid  success.  His  name  fills  the  Nation,  and  it  is 

101 


won  through  merit  and  the  well-earned  confidence 
of  the  people.  His  Legislative  experience,  his  legal 
work  and  political  movements,  however,  with  their 
increasing  responsibilities,  were  an  unconscious 
preparation  for  the  greater  and  graver  responsibili- 
ties awaiting  him. 

The  Wigwam. 

Some  years  ago,  in  student  life,  the  writer 
chanced  to  see  an  electric  display,  unique  and  beau- 
tiful. It  was  a  quiet  evening.  I  had  left  my  books 
and  wandered  out  for  exercise  and  rest.  Some- 
how my  eyes  turned  upward,  and  there  before  me 
appeared  a  spectacle  such  as  I  never  saw  before  or 
since.  Reader,  you  have  seen  the  Northern  Lights 
play  wondrous  witcheries,  but  here  they  seemed 
to  burst  their  barriers.  Above  and  nearly  overhead, 
appeared  a  crown  of  light,  strong,  glittering  and 
brilliant;  and  from  that  center,  as  from  a  blazing 
sun,  went  forth  the  gold  and  silver  spangling,  until 
the  concave  vault  of  heaven  was  draped  with  wav- 
ing light  of  wondrous  beauty.  The  heavens  ap- 
peared a  jeweled  crown.  So  I  have  thought  the 
famous  Wigwam  in  Chicago  and  the  Convention  by 
the  lake,  a  crown  of  honor  to  the  Nation,  destined 
to  spread  its  mellow  light  over  all  this  land,  and  for 
ages  yet  to  come.  God's  ways  are  sometimes 
strange  and  hard  to  understand.  So  it  seemed  to 
some  at  that  Convention.  But  looking  back  through 
the  vista  of  the  years,  and  taking  measure  of  the 
men,  as  later  seen  and  known,  and  the  ordeal 

not  unknown  In  foreign  lands.  *  *  *  I  had  rather  stand 
on  that  eminence  than  to  wear  the  richest  crown  that 
ever  pressed  a  monarch's  brow." 

102 


through  which  the  Nation  was  to  pass,  we  see  be- 
yond all  question,  in  the  choice  of  "Honest  Old 
Abe,"  the  rail  splitter  of  Sangamon  Bottom,  the 
one  whom  God,  foresooth,  had  chosen  "to  steer  the 
ship  through  the  great  crisis." 

An  incident  or  two  in  that  Convention  is  here  in 
point.  The  Republican  party  was  in  its  youth  and 
not  yet  homogeneous;  there  were  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  the  slavery  question,  the  means  and 
methods  to  be  employed  and  the  extent  of  inter- 
ference; and  there  was  grave  danger  of  a  rupture. 
A  grand  old  man  from  the  Western  Reserve,  Ohio, 
pleads  for  a  sentence  from  the  Declaration  (All 
men  created  free  and  equal,  etc.)  to  be  embodied  in 
the  platform  of  the  party.  I  see  that  grand  old 
man  to-day  as  I  saw  him  when  a  boy,  speaking  to  a 
class  of  students,  and  his  earnest,  eloquent  words 
touch  me  now  as  they  touched  me  then.  The 
amendment  was  rejected,  and  Joshua  R.  Giddings, 
the  gray  haired  veteran,  representative  man  of 
the  abolitionists,  grieved  and  disappointed,  left  the 
room.  Just  at  this  crisis  an  earnest,  eloquent, 
scholarly  young  man,  appeared,  and  with  a  little 
change,  renewed  the  amendment  of  Mr.  Giddings, 
and  in  a  speech  most  eloquent,  stirred  the  entire 
Convention,  and  in  closing  cried  out  in  his  sweet 
stentorian  voice: — "Is  this  Convention  prepared  to 
vote  down  the  Declaration  of  our  fathers,  the  char- 
ter of  American  liberty?"  The  amendment  was 
carried  almost  unanimously  and  with  great  en- 
thusiasm. 

Mr.  Giddings,  having  re-entered  the  hall,  now 
urged  his  way  through  the  surging  crowd  to  the 
young  man  who  had  spoken,  threw  his  arms  around 

103 


the  neck  of  George  William  Curtis,  and  with  tear? 
coursing  down  his  cheeks,  exclaimed : — "God  blesl 
you,  my  boy.  You  have  saved  the  Republican  party. 
God  bless  you."  This  amendment  was  one  of  th« 
chief  pillars  of  Lincoln's  political  creed. 

In  western  New  York,  a  little  boy ,68  descended 
from  Colonial  parents  and  destined,  himself,  to  be- 
come a  man  of  letters,  was  watching  the  coming  of 
a  train  on  the  New  York  Central,  and  scheduled  for 
Chicago.  The  train  went  whirling  by,  and  stretched 
along  its  side  was  a  breadth  of  canvas  and  painted 
on  it  in  large  letters,— GOING  TO  CHICAGO  TO 
NOMINATE  NEW  YORK'S  FAVORITE  SON,— 
WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 

That  little  boy.  grown  to  manhood,  told  to  the 
writer  the  story  the  other  day  and  the  impress 
made  upon  his  mind.  That  little  story  took  me 
captive,  for  it  spread  before  me  a  living  picture  of 
more  than  momentary  interest.  The  snap-shot  of 
the  little  boy  reached  the  climax  of  its  develop- 
ment, and  received  its  boldest,  richest,  finest,  magic 
touch,  at  the  Wigwam  in  Chicago.  Senator  Seward 
was  a  scholar  and  a  statesman.  As  Governor  of 
New  York,  and  long  time  Senator  of  the  United 
States,  he  made  an  enviable  record.  He  was  widely 
known  as  leader  of  his  party.  His  "Irrepressible 
Conflict,"  given  in  Rochester,  Oct.,  1858,  was  a 
worthy  companion  of  Lincoln's  "House  divided 
against  itself,"  given  at  Springfield  in  June  pre- 
ceding. That  canvas  display  on  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral, was  thought  by  delegates  on  the  train,  by 
Thurlow  Weed,  Mr.  Everts,  Mr.  Osburn  and  other 

'"'Orando  E.  Clark,  Appleton,  Wis. 

104 


Eastern  lights  to  be  the  certain  outcome  of  the  Con- 
vention. It  is  now  the  18th  day  of  May,  the  third 
of  the  Convention  ;  the  third  ballot  has  been  taken  ; 
a  vote  or  two  is  lacking  for  the  nomination,  Ohio 
changes  four  ballots  from  Chase, — Lincoln  is  the 
nominee !  The  Convention  goes  wild ! ! — As  soon  aa 
quiet  is  restored  sufficiently,  William  M.  Everts, 
Chairman  of  the  New  York  delegation,  ascends  the 
platform  and  addresses  the  speaker,  saying: — "Mr. 
Chairman,  we  come  from  a  great  State,  with  a 
great  candidate  whom  we  hoped  to  see  nominated. 
In  the  name  of  that  great  State  and  by  request  of 
that  great,  candidate,  I  move  that  the  nomination  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  be  made  unanimous."  Cheers 
and  deafening  yells  echoed  and  re-echoed  through 
that  great  building;  the  nomination  was  pro- 
claimed from  the  house  top  and  sounded  forth 
from  the  cannon's  mouth  on  the  street  below,  and 
inj  unnumbered  telegraph  offices  the  little  brass 
fingers  clicked  the  news  through  all  the  land.  In 
the  office  in  Springfield  the  message  was  handed  to 
Lincoln.  He  read  it  over,  then  read  it  aloud,  and 
without  waiting  farther  said: — "There  is  a  little 
woman  at  our  home  who  will  like  to  see  it.  I'll 
go  down  and  tell  her."69 

The  Interim. 

When  Lincoln  was  elected  President,  Secession, 
as  we  have  come  to  know  was  in  an  advanced  state 
of  preparation,  and  when  he  took  his  place  war 
was  imminent ;  with  the  Nation's  navy  scattered, 

89 This  and  numerous  other  such  like  Incidents  speak 
forcibly  as  to  the  affectionate  and  confidential  relations 
between  Lincoln  and  his  wife. 

105 


arsenals  stripped,  the  treasury  empty  and  the  Na- 
tion's credit  at  low  ebb. 

The  four  months  between  the  election  and  the  in- 
auguration form  a  dark,  weary,  gruesome  chapter 
in  the  Nation's  history.  A  weak  and  irresolute  old 
man  was  in  the  Executive  chairjo  questioning 
the  while  his  right  to  suppress  insurrection  and  re- 
strain insurgent  States  in  acts  of  rebellion  against 
the  government,  and  seeking  to  shift  the  responsi- 
bility of  his  own  administration  upon  that  of  his 
successorJi  High  treason  was  crouching  at  the 

70  The  outgoing  President  was  not  a  Statesman  in  the 
higher  sense,  and  of  the  first  class.  He  was  weak  and 
vacileating.  He  was  wanting  in  executive  ability,  and 
lacked  self-assertion  and  the  essential  qualities  of  leader- 
ship. He  was  always  behind  in  important  crises,  but 
managed  to  be  at  the  front  and  ready  to  be  counted  in 
the  time  of  victory.  He  was  a  pro-slavery  Democrat,  and 
his  political  proclivities  were  strongly  Southern.  He  was 
really  loyal  to  the  Government  and  did  not  want  to  see 
the  Union  dismembered.  His  idea  of  the  real  character 
of  the  Constitution,  however,  and  of  the  Government 
seem  vague  and  incoherent.  He  seems  to  have  been  thor- 
oughly tinctured  with  States'  Rights  ideas. 

"General  Duff  Green  went  to  Springfield  in  December, 
1860,  as  an  emissary  of  Pres.  Buchanan  to  invite  the 
President-elect  to  Washington  for  a  conference  upon  the 
situation,  with  the  hope  that  his  presence  there  might 
prevent  Civil  war,  and  General  Green  was  bold  enough  to 
tell  him  if  he  did  not  go,  "Upon  his  conscience  must  rest 
the  blood  that  would  be  shed."  Here  Lincoln's  political 
shrewdness  and  diplomacy  were  demonstrated  in  as  con- 
spicuous a  manner  perhaps  as  at  any  other  crisis  in  his 
life.  He  detected  at  once  the  intention  to  unload  upon 
him  the  responsibility  of  a  disunion  and  war  and  met  it 
with  a  counter  proposition,  which  must  have  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  conspirators  who  were  trying  to  en- 
trap him.  He  received  General  Green  with  great  cour- 
tesy, heard  him  with  respectful  attention  and  gave  him 
a  letter  in  which  he  said  he  did  not  desire  any  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution,  although  he  recognized  the 
right  of  the  American  people  to  adopt  one ;  that  he  be- 
lieved in  maintaining  inviolate  the  right  of  each  State 
to  control  its  own  domestic  institutions ;  and  that  he 
considered  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed  force  of  the 
soil  of  any  State  or  territory  as  the  gravest  of  crimes. 
While  these  were  his  sentiments,  and  while  they  indi- 

106 


door,  boldly  scheming,  and  secretly  planning  to 
make  secession  a  settled  fact  before  the  Ides  of 
March.  Traitors  were  in  the  Cabinet,72  plundering 
and  disarming  the  Government,  strengthening  their 
allies  in  treason  and  plotting  to  render  powerless 
the  incoming  President.  Conspirators,  red-handed 
and  alert,  were  in  Congress  plotting  treason  and 
planning  the  destruction  of  the  Union.  Treachery 
stalked  abroad,  bold,  and  defiant,  while  patriots 
looked  on  powerless  to  interfere,  but  praying  God 
to  speed  the  coming  of  the  chosen  leader.  Lincoln 
was  at  home,  watchful,  anxious,  reticent,  hopeful, 
firm  and  determined,  trustful  in  the  loyalty  of  the 
masses  and  in  the  God  of  nations. 

On  the  eleventh  day  of  February,  entrusted  with 
his  great  mission,  with  a  dreadful  ordeal,  dangers 
untold  and  difficulties  unmeasured,  before  him,  and 
with  a  most  pathetic  parting  with  old  friends  and 
neighbors,73  Lincoln,  with  his  family,  left  his  home 
in  Springfield,  to  which  he  was  never  to  return. 
After  a  noteworthy  and  historic  journey,  he  reached 
Washington  on  the  morning  of  February  23d,  hav- 
ing safely  escaped  the  assassination  deliberately 
planned  at  Baltimore,  and  discovered  by  the  Pink- 
erton  detectives. 

Buchanan  turned  over  the  Government  to  his  suc- 
cessor in  a  state  of  civil  war.  Until  nearly  the 

cated  the  policy  he  should  pursue  as  President  he  would 
not  consent  to  their  publication  unless  the  Senators  from 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Florida,  Louisiana  and 
Texas  would  sign  a  pledge  which  he  had  written  below 
his  signature  to  this  letter,  and  upon  the  same  piece  of 
paper. — Curtis. 

"John  B.  Floyd,  Secretary  of  War;  Isaac  Toucey,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy ;  Howell  Cobb,  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury ;  Jacob  Thompson,  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

78  See  Farewell  Address,  Appendix. 

107 


close  of  his  administration  the  majority  of  his 
Cabinet  were  avowed  disunionists,  and  were  using 
their  various  positions  to  advance  the  aims  and 
ends  of  secession,  while  their  Chief  doubted  and 
philosophized  upon  the  Constitutional  rights  of 
coertion ;  "Imitating  Nero,"  as  some  one  has  said, 
"who  fiddled  while  Rome  was  burning." 

The  Leader. 

We  tremble  when  we  look  back  upon  the  scene 
and  see  the  dreadfulness  of  the  conflict  as  no  one 
then  could  understand  it. — The  shades  of  the 
fathers  who  gave  us  the  Nation  seem  to  rise  in  pro- 
test and  ask  for  a  leader  upon  whom  might  fall 
their  sacred  mantle,  and  save  what  they  had  won. 

In  the  restrospect  of  fifty  years  we  can  now  anal- 
yze the  peculiarities  of  the  Conflict  as  we  could  not 
then,  and  judge  of  the  combination  of  qualities, 
gifts  and  abilities  needed  for  that  leadership  as  now 
seen  actually  mirrored  in  the  characteristics,  activ- 
ities and  success  of  the  leader  himself. — A  man 
self-poised,  honest,  gentle,  tolerant  of  the  opinions 
of  others,  sympathetic  but  stern  in  pushing  the 
battle  for  the  right ;  wise,  unselfish,  tenderhearted, 
broadminded  and  impartial ;  hopeful,  farsighted 
and  of  a  long  suffering  patience  "that  had  in  it 
something  of  the  divine;"  a  man  of  legally  dis- 
ciplined mind,  of  military  strategic  thought,  and  un- 
dying courage;  reticent,  self-reliant  but  free  from 
arrogance  of  opinion ;  a  man  of  candor,  and  big 
enough  to  see  his  own  littleness  and  limitations, 
and  willing  to  learn  from  experience  and  from 
others ;  a  statesman  of  the  highest  rank, — one 

108 


who  would  never  compromise  with  principle,  though 
not  refusing  concession  as  to  time  and  methods 
when  needful ;  who  would  take  God  into  account, 
firm  in  unyielding  faith  that  right  makes  might. 
Such  we  have  come  to  see  were  the  qualities  in  part 
needed  for  that  leadership. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1861,  a  large  assembly 
had  gathered  about  the  Eastern  portico  of  the 
Capitol  at  Washington.  Upon  a  wooden  platform 
fronting  that  crowd  of  waiting  people,  was  a  cortege 
of  officers  and  distinguished  guests.  Under  direc- 
tion of  General  Winfield  Scott,  United  States 
soldiers  had  been  duly  stationed  at  various  points. 
On  the  platform  was  a  table  on  which  lay  the  Holy 
Bible.  With  the  utmost  composure  the  speaker  to 
be  took  off  his  hat,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  reached  out, 
received  and  held  it  during  the  address.  Senator 
Edward  Baker,  an  old-time  friend,  introduced  the 
man.  Chief  Justice  Taney  administered  the  oath 
of  office.  The  speaker  is  described  as : — "A  tall,  un- 
gainly man,  wearing  a  black  suit,  a  black  tie  be- 
neath a  turned  down  collar,  a  black  silk  hat  and 
steel  rimmed!  spectacles ; — His  features  were  an- 
gular, his  skin  dark  and  his  hair  almost  black, 
slightly  sprinkled  with  gray ;  his  eyebrows  very 
heavy  and  prominent ;  his  eyes  were  deeply  set, 
gray  and  penetrating  in  their  look ;  his  well  formed 
head  was  well  poised  on  a  neck  neat  and  trim ;  his 
looks  were  sad  and  melancholy !"  "His  self  posses- 
sion," says  Mr.  Watterson,  "was  perfect.  Dignity 
itself  could  not  have  been  more  unexcited.  His 
voice  was  a  little  high  pitched,  but  resonant,  his 
expression  was  serious  to  the  point  of  gravity,  not 

109 


a  scintilation  of  humor.  It  is  only  true  to  say  that 
he  delivered  that  Inaugural  address  as  though  he 
had  been  delivering  Inaugural  addresses  all  his 
life." 

That  address  74  has  now  become  classic,  and  he 
who  gave  it  was  to  be  the  Nation's  leader  through 
the  most  critical  and  trying  period  of  the  Nation's 
history. 

Knotty  and  most  intricate  problems  were  to  be 
solved.  Stupendous  burdens  were  to  be  borne.  "The 
perplexing  compound,"  as  he  termed  it,  "Union  and 
slavery,"  was  in  the  seething  caldron.  There  was  a 
maze  of  diverse  and  conflicting  ideas  even  among 
those  who  were  for  the  Unionjs  TO  save  the  Na- 
tion he  must  find  his  way  through  some  adjustment 
of  these  differing  views  as  well  as  meet  the  open 
foe.  The  way  before  him  was  one  of  blood  and 
tears  and  death.  He  was  facing  a  war  which 
proved  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  wars  in  history ; — 
a  war  whose  responsibilities  and  heart-breaking  ex- 
periences were  sufficient  to  wear  out  any  ordinary 
man.  The  people  did  not  know  the  man  then  as  we 
know  him  now ;  indeed  he  had  not  taken  full  meas- 
ure of  himself,  and  none  but  God  could  understand 
the  needs  of  the  coming  ordeal  and  take  the 
measure  of  the  man  He  wanted. 

It  was  thought  by  some  that  he  was  overmatched 
by  his  principal  rivals  for  the  Presidency,  and 
would  be  overshadowed  by  the  statesmen  of  the 

74  See  First  Inaugural — in  part,  Appendix. 

76 He  said: — "There  were  those  for  the  Union  with, 
but  not  without  slavery ;  those  who  were  for  it  without, 
but  not  with ;  those  for  it  with  or  without  but  who 
preferred  it  with ;  and  those  for  It  with  or  without  but 
who  preferred  it  without." 

110 


HOUSE  WHERE  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN  DIED. 


day.  Failure  was  predicted,  but  fear  was  soon 
dispelled.  He  summoned  to  his  Cabinet,  as  coun- 
selors, those  men  whom  none  but  a  great  man 
would  have  ventured  to  select, — his  principal  rivals 
in  the  contest  for  the  Presidential  nomination,  the 
leaders  of  the  party,  and  the  ablest  statesmen  of 
the  country.  Nor  did  his  greatness  suffer  in  com- 
parison by  the  contact.  He  towered  above  them  all 
as  their  leader.  His  discernment  of  character  and 
his  masterly  management  of  men  so  different  from 
himself  and  from  each  other  as  Seward  and  Stan- 
ton  and  Chase,  the  power  to  hold  them  together  and 
to  utilize  their  splendid  and  indispensible  abilities 
for  the  good  of  the  Nation,  proved  the  genius  of  a 
leader  seldom,  if  ever  before,  found  in  history.  In 
less  than  a  year  every  one  of  these  great  leaders 
recognized  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of  his  chief 
and  superior.  Seward  was  one  of  the  first  to  recog- 
nize this.  Early  in  the  administration  he  wrote  to 
his  wife : — "Executive  skill  and  vigor  are  rare  qual- 
ities. The  President  is  the  best  of  us." 

In  '61  and  '62  Lincoln's  character  and  motives 
were  utterly  misunderstood  even  by  many  in  the 
North ;  and  his  efforts  were  often  misconstrued. 
For  the  first  two  years  of  his  administration  he  was 
often  caricatured  in  the  most  ludicrous  manner. 
He  was  represented  as  a  "Buffoon,"  "A  blundering 
ignoramus,"  "A  selfish  intriguer,"  "A  heartless 
clown,"  and  such  like.  The  present  generation  can 
little  understand  the  intensity  of  the  antagonism 
towards  Lincoln,  for  a  time,  even  in  the  North  and 
in  his  own  party  and  among  his  nominal  friends.76 

78  Among  these  were  Wendell  Phillips,  who  at  one  time 
called  him  the  "slave-hound  of  Illinois"  ;  Horace  Greely, 

111 


Such,  however,  seems  the  characteristic  weakness 
of  human  judgment,  when  applied  to  men  in  public 
life,  and  dealing  with  great  and  critical  questions 
in  which  men  differ,  and  in  which  keen  discernment 
and  judicious  foresight  are  essential.  Lincoln's  real 
self  and  work  were  veiled,  at  times,  under  a  seem- 
ingly rough  and  homely  exterior.  But  when  the 
veil  was  lifted  it  disclosed  a  great  heart,  a  noble 
soul,  a  wise,  farsighted  and  safe  leader. 

The  Guiding  Spirit  of  the  War. 

Lincoln  in  the  Civil  War  is  essentially  the  his- 
tory of  the  War  in  miniature.  He  had  his  commit- 
tee on  conduct  of  the  War,  his  Generals  in  the  field, 
and  his  Secretary  of  War,  but  he  was  Commander- 
in-Chief,  and  upon  him  rested  the  ultimate  responsi- 
bility of  military  success  or  failure.  Nor  did  he 
attempt  to  shirk  the  responsibility.  From  first  to 
last  he  put  in  force  his  keen  discernment,  clear  fore- 
sight, instinctive  military  skill  and  intense  applica- 
tion in  military  as  in  other  matters ;  and  as  the  War 
progressed,  encouraged  and  sustained  by  his  great 
War  Secretary,  he  refused  to  loose  his  hold  even 
in  the  face  of  the  bitterest  criticism.  Many  leading 
soldiers  during  the  War  gave  him  the  credit  of  hav- 
ing the  essential  qualities  of  a  great  General.?? 

Dr.  Cheever,  delegates  from  the  North ;  Dr.  Channing, 
Conway  and  others.  "During  his  brief  term  of  power/' 
says  Joseph  H.  Choate,  "he  was  probably  the  object  of 
more  abuse,  vilification  and  ridicule  than  any  other  man 
in  the  world." 

"Generals  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan,  Smith  and 
others. 

Lincoln  had  his  Secretary  of  War,  his  Generals  in  tne 
field,  and  Committee  on  conduct  of  the  War;  but  Lin- 
coln himself  was  the  final  arbiter. 

His  memoranda  of  July  23d,  and  27th  of  July  was  the 
first  definite  and  coherent  plan  for  the  prosecution  of  the 

112 


His  decisions  touching  the  reinforcement  of  Fort 
Sumpter,  within  twenty-four  hours  after  his  in- 
auguration, and  a  like  decision,  a  little  later,  as  to 
Fort  Pickens,  his  outline  of  military  plans  sched- 
uled in  '61,  various  letters  to  his  Generals;  the 
steam  navy  which  so  effectually  blockaded  the 
Southern  ports,  and  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi, 
cutting  in  two  the  Confederacy,  and  which  had  their 

War.  It  eminated  from  his  own  mind  and  not  from  that 
of  any  of  his  Generals.  *  *  *  No  professional  soldier 
or  writer  could  state  more  precisely  the  military  situa- 
tion then  existing  or  propose  a  sounder  military  plan. 
Lincoln  had  that  faculty  of  intense  application  and  clear 
insight,  so  rare  that  we  call  it  genius  ;  and  he  applied  It 
as  successfully  to  military  affairs  as  to  politics,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  he  was  by  instinct  a  man  of  peace, 
and  by  training  a  lawyer,  and  that  military  problems 
never  engaged  his  attention  until  he  was  fifty-two  years 
old.  His  plans  were  interrupted  and  delayed  first  in  one 
way  and  then  in  another. 

Ideas  evolved  and  written  out  in  his  own  hand,  July 
23,  1861 :  (1)  Let  the  plan  for  making  the  blockade 
be  pushed  forward  with  all  possible  dispatch.  (2)  Let 
the  volunteer  forces  at  Fort  Monroe  and  vicinity,  under 
Gen.  Butler,  be  constantly  drilled,  disciplined  and  in- 
structed without  more  force  for  the  present.  (3)  Let  Balti- 
more be  held  as  now  with  a  gentle  but  firm  and  certain 
hand.  (4)  Let  the  force  now  under  Patterson,  or  Banks, 
be  strengthened  and  made  secure  in  its  position.  (5)  Let 
the  forces  in  West  Virginia  act  till  further  orders  ac- 
cording to  instructions  or  orders  from  Gen.  McClellan. 
(6)  Let  Gen.  Freemont  push  forward  his  organization 
and  operations  in  the  West  as  rapidly  as  possible,  giving 
special  attention  to  Missouri.  (7)  Let  the  forces  late 
before  Manassas,  except  the  three  months  men,  be  re- 
organized as  rapidly  as  possible  in  their  camps  here  and 
about  Arlington.  (8)  Let  the  three  months  forces  who 
declined  to  enter  the  longer  service  be  discharged  as 
rapidly  as  circumstances  will  permit.  (9)  Let  the  new 
volunteer  forces  be  brought  forward  as  fast  as  possible; 
and  especially  into  the  camps  on  the  two  sides  of  the 
river  here.  (When  the  foregoing  shall  have  been  sub- 
stantially attended  to,  July  27)  :  (1)  Let  Manassas 
Junction  (or  some  point  one  way  or  other  of  the  rail- 
roads near  it)  and  Strasburg  be  seized,  and  permanently 
held,  with  an  open  line  from  Washington  to  Manassas 
and  an  open  line  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  Strasburg,  the 
Military  men  to  find  the  way  of  doing  this.  (2)  This 
done,  a  joint  movement  from  Cairo  to  Memphis,  and  from 
Cincinnati  to  East  Tennessee.  (Scribner's,  July,  1909.) 

113 


origin  in  the  mind  of  Lincoln,  are  in  evidence  of 
his  able  military  leadership.  Though  not  a  soldier 
by  profession,  by  education  or  by  experience,  he 
showed  himself  possessed  of  the  instincts  of  a 
soldier,  and  had  not  a  little  of  the  soldier's  strat- 
egy. The  military  problems  of  the  War,  after  a 
few  months,  were  more  directly  under  the  super- 
vision of  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  energetic  men 
of  modern  times,  the  great  War  Secretary,  Edwin 
M.  Stanton.  But  the  well-beaten  path  from  the 
White  House  to  the  War  Department,  and  the 
nightly  presence  of  the  President  there  at  times  of 
military  movements  was  in  evidence  that  the  war 
measures  were  under  his  surveillance.  With  the 
facts  and  movements  of  the  War  period  brought 
out  and  delineated  through  the  careful  study,  in- 
vestigation and  criticism  of  nearly  half  a  century, 
the  conclusion  has  been  reached  by  those  well  qual- 
ified to  judge  that  Lincoln  was  a  master  of  strat- 
egy and  a  military  leader  of  no  mean  capacity J8 

Time  and  events  soon  developed  the  fact  that  the 
war  was  to  be  a  war  of  conquest  on  the  part  of  the 

"General  Francis  V.  Greene  is  reputed  to  be  one  of  the 
foremost  military  critics  in  America.  In  1901  he  wrote: 
"Lincoln  stands  out  among  the  very  few  preeminently 
great  men  in  all  time  bringing  to  the  study  of  purely 
military  questions  his  extraordinary  common  sense,  and 
often  arriving  at  conclusions  more  correct  than  those  of 
some  of  his  best  Generals." — Scribner's,  1901. 

In  1909  he  said  :  "Great  statesman,  astute  politician, 
clear  thinker,  classic  writer,  master  of  men,  kindly,  lov- 
able man.  These  are  his  titles.  To  them  must  be  added 
— military  leader.  Had  he  failed  In  that  quality  the 
others  would  have  been  forgotten.  Had  peace  been  made 
on  any  terms  but  those  of  surrender  of  the  insurgent 
forces  and  restoration  of  the  Union,  his  career  would 
have  been  a  colossal  failure  and  the  Emancipation  Proc- 
lamation a  subject  of  ridicule.  The  prime  essential  was 
military  success.  Lincoln  gained  it." — See  Scribner's, 
1909. 

114 


North,  and  Lincoln  was  not  slow  to  recognize  the 
fact.  "The  skill  which  divined  the  proper  strategy 
of  the  war,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "was  as  marked 
as  the  patience  with  which  he  tried  General  after 
General,  till  he  found  at  last  the  man  who  could  do 
the  work"  There  were  at  first  too  many  political 
Generals  on  the  roll  of  officers,  and  as  a  writer  and 
an  officer  has  said,  some  "Trimmed  their  ships  so 
as  to  ride  into  the  Presidential  haven  upon  the  high 
wave  of  military  fame  and  popularity."  He  en- 
joined Hooker  to  be  cautious,  and  upon  others  he 
urged  his  ideas  of  movement  and  activity,  as  Pope 
and  Meade,  and  especially  McClellan,  and  with  re- 
sults now  known  to  history. 

One  leader  after  another,  when  found  unequal 
for  the  place,  was  displaced,  and  others  named  for 
the  Eastern  army,  until,  at  last  Grant  was  called ; 
and  only  as  he  took  command  would  Lincoln  relax 
his  hold.  To  him  he  gave  the  supreme  command, 
and  the  verdict  of  history  shows  his  wisdom. 

Diplomacy. 

The  sought  for  excuses  on  the  part  of  England 
and  France,  and  other  nations,  to  assist  and  rec- 
ognize the  Southern  Confederacy,  so-called,  were 
matters  of  no  small  moment,  added  to  the  Presi- 
dent's already  excessive  burdens.  But  here  as  else- 
where Lincoln  rose  to  the  needs  of  the  occasion,  and 
displayed  diplomatic  qualities  of  the  highest  rank. 
His  quiet  veto  of  Seward's  plan  to  cure  secession 
by  waging  war  with  France  or  Spain,  and  then 
with  England,  in  the  Trent  affair,  is  in  evidence. 
This,  supplemented  by  the  later  and  marked  states- 
manship of  Seward,  the  diplomacy  of  Charles  Fran- 

115 


ces  Adams,  then  United  States  Minister  to  England, 
the  efforts  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  the  splen- 
did services  of  Arch-Bishop  Hughes  in  France  and 
Italy,  helped  to  avert  the  move  and  repel  the  inter- 
ference. While  Russia,  always  our  friend,  stood 
ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand,  if  needed.™ 

The  Chieftain's  Slogan. 

Lincoln's  slogan  was  the  "Salvation  of  the 
Union."  Union  with  the  constitutional  guarantees 
accorded  to  the  Slave  system  anywhere  within  the 
Slave  states,  if  possible;  but  no  extension  of  the 
system  beyond  such  limits.  He  came  to  the  Pres- 
idency entrusted  with  these  principles,  and  no 
power,  and  no  body  of  men  were  able  to  sway  him 

T9"The  world  is  indebted  to  this  Society  (a  powerful 
political  society  for  reintroducing  the  Duma,  abolished  by 
Peter  the  Great,  and  to  liberate  all  slaves,  especially 
Christians,  under  the  terrible  Turkish  sword),  that  the 
Emperor,  Alexander  II.,  called  the  Liberator,  by  one 
stroke  of  his  pen  abolished  the  slavery  of  twenty-two 
millions  of  peasants  in  Russia  and  thoroughly  reformed 
all  branches  of  administration. 

To  the  same  Society  the  United  States  are  perhaps 
indebted  for  their  very  existence,  because  when  the  Civil 
War  broke  out,  Lincoln's  work  was  menaced  by  the  at- 
tack of  England  in  conjunction  with  France.  These  two 
strong  countries,  presuming  that  the  failure  of  the  North- 
ern States  meant  to  the  United  States  ruin,  seized  the 
opportunity  to  attempt  by  force  the  return  of  the  North- 
ern States  to  their  former  status  of  a  British  Colony  and 
to  give  back  to  France  Louisiana  and  possibly  some  other 
of  the  Southern  States.  Even  all  Texas  was  offered  to 
France  in  1864  for  recognition  of  the  Confederacy.  *  *  » 
But  Lincoln,  as  Liberator,  had  already  the  admiration  of 
the  Society,  and  the  Society  had  the  ear  of  the  generous 
Emperor  Alexander  II.,  who  immediately  ordered  his 
Atlantic  fleet  to  sail  into  New  York  harbor  and  his  Pacific 
squadron  to  enter  San  Francisco,  informing  England  and 
France  that  their  interference  against  Lincoln  would 
mean  a  declaration  of  war  against  Russia.  England  and 
France  heeded  the  timely  warning." — Count  Spiridovitch. 
(Lincoln  Fellowship,  1908.) 

(The  above  is  amply  confirmed  by  Hon.  Samuel  R. 
Thayer,  late  U.  S.  Minister  to  the  Netherlands.) 

116 


in  the  least  from  this  purpose.  As  Mr.  Watterson 
has  said:— "He  became  the  incarnation  of  the 
brains  and  the  soul  of  the  Union."  He  entertained 
no  question  as  to  the  Constitutional  right  of  the 
Government  to  coerce  a  State  attempting  to  with- 
draw from  the  Union.so  when  Fort  Sumpter  was 
fired  upon,  and  the  evidence  of  determined  war  was 
complete,  Jackson  like,  though  without  his  impetu- 
osity, he  acted.  He  called  for  troops  and  continued 
to  call,  as  the  needs  of  the  war  required,  until  near- 
ly three  million  (3,000,000)  were  numbered  with 
the  Union  army.  The  fall  of  Sumpter  was  the 
trumpet  sound  for  the  resurrection  of  the  spirit 
of  '76,  and  with  deathless  patriotism  the  Captain 
nailed  the  Union  pennant  to  the  Ship  of  State — All 
else  was  secondary. 

The  Emancipation  Proclamation. 

It  was  the  high  privilege  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to 
produce  and  sign  the  Emancipation  Proclamation. 
"It  was  special  in  language,"  says  Frederick  Doug- 
las, "but  general  in  principle."  In  the  providence 
of  God  it  was  calculated  to  be  the  death  knell  of 
African  slavery  in  our  Nation.  But  it  was  issued 
as  a  War  measure  and  distinctly  stated  as  such.  It 
proved  a  most  welcome  fulfillment  too  of  a  cher- 
ished premonition  of  his  early  manhood.  The  two 
great  political  aims  of  his  life  had  been  gained,  the 
perpetuity  of  the  Union  and  the  downfall  of 
slavery. 

80 1  can  no  more  be  persuaded  that  the  Government  can 
Constitutionally  take  no  strong  measure  In  time  of  re- 
bellion because  it  can  be  shown  that  the  same  could  not 
be  taken  in  time  of  peace,  than  I  can  be  persuaded  that 
a  particular  drug  is  not  good  for  a  sick  man  because  It 
can  be  shown  to  be  not  good  food  for1  a  well. — Reply  to 
Jfeio  York  Democrats. 

117 


All  sorts  of  people  had  been  giving  him  the  bene- 
fit of  their  advice  in  the  matter  of  liberating  the 
slaves.si  He  was  in  the  midst  of  a  war  of  conflict- 
ing opinions ;  and  when  emancipation  was  pro- 
claimed, it  was  too  late  to  suit  some,  too  early  to 
suit  others,  and  too  limited  to  suit  still  others.  Here 
Lincoln  was  like  the  pilot  carefully  picking  the  way 
for  the  Ship  of  State  between  the  Scylla  and  Charyb- 
dis  of  the  Nation.  After  all,  viewed  from  the  light 
of  surrounding  conditions,  and  internal  data,  as  we 
now  see  them,  it  was  about  as  opportune  a  time  as 
the  country  could  have  tolerated.  Old  statesmen, 
and  other  nations  were  looking  on  and  questioning : 
"Will  the  Old  Backwoodsman  really  get  the  Ship 
through?"  But  the  hand  of  the  leader  was  upon 
the  pulse  of  the  Nation ;  his  head  was  above  the 
raging  storm  and  the  whirling  clouds,  while  his 
heart  was  in  touch  with  the  heart  of  God.82  Lin- 
coln hated  the  institution  of  slavery.  He  had  said 
in  his  young  manhood,  witnessing  men  and  women, 

81  They  seemed  to  think  that  the  moment  I  was  Presi- 
dent I  had  the  powoer  to  abolish  slavery,  forgetting  that, 
before  I  could  have  any  power  whatever,  I  had  to  take 
the  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
and  execute  the  laws  as   I  found  them.     When  the  Re- 
bellion broke  out  my  duty  did  not  admit  of  a  question. — 
Bee  Six  Months  in  the  White  House  (On  occasion  of  lec- 
ture  In  House  of   Representatives  by   Mr.   Geo.   Thomas, 
and  his  visit  with  Pierpont  Morgan  and  others  to  White 
House). 

82  The  Tycoon   Is   In  fine   whack.      I   have   rarely    seen 
him  more  serene  and  busy.     He  is  managing  this  war,  the 
draft,    foreign   relations,    and    planning   a    reconstruction 
of  the  Union,  all  at  once.     I  never  knew  with  what  ty- 
rannous authority  he  rules  the  Cabinet  till  now.  The  more 
Important  things  he  decides  and  there  is  no  cavil.     I  am 
growing  more  and   more  firmly   convinced  that   the  good 
of   the    country    absolutely    demands    that   ne    should    be 
kept  where  he  is  till  this  thing  is  over.     There  is  no  man 
In  the  country  so  wise,  so  gentle  and  so  firm. — John  Hay 
to  J.  G.  Nicolay. 

118 


. 


boys  and  girls  in  the  auction  shambles  of  New 
Orleans,  and  especially  a  beautiful  octoroon  on  the 
auction  block,  handled,  treated,  examined  as  a 
beast : — "If  I  ever  get  a  chance  to  strike  that  insti- 
tution I'll  hit  it  hard."  The  time  and  the  man  here 
came  together.  But  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  Na- 
tion to  save  the  Union.  "It  was  a  fight  for  nation- 
ality, and  the  Government  was  in  self  defence."  This 
act  was  a  war  measure,  yet  with  its  far-reaching 
and  inevitable  results.  Repellant  on  the  one  hand, 
and  sought  for  on  the  other,  the  thrilling  word 
"Emancipation"  was  at  last  spoken.  It  was  the 
bugle  blast  in  the  storm — "All  hands  on  deck  to 
save  the  ship" !  It  went  forth  echoing  its  telling 
message  through  the  Nation  and  over  the  sea,  and 
greeted  on  its  way  the  20,000,000  Serfs  whom  the 
Czar  of  Russia  had  spoken  free.  That  Proclama- 
tion has  the  seal  of  Heaven  upon  it,  and  Lincoln 
will  always  be  lauded  as  its  honored  agent.  It  has 
called  forth  and  will  continue  to  call  forth  the  grat- 
itude of  a  race  of  Freedmen,  and  his  name  will  be 
crowned  with  eternal  blessings.  His  reception  at 
Richmond  the  day  after  the  evacuation  was  a 
token  of  the  feeling.83 

The  writer  can  never  forget  a  scene  he  chanced 
to  witness  at  the  city  of  Petersburg  the  morning 
after  the  assassination.  Several  hundred  colored 
people — contrabands — whom  the  Government  was 
supplying  with  food  had  gathered  in  their  morning 
ranks.  It  was  my  duty  as  Quartermaster  to  issue 
the  rations.  A  tall  negro,  six  feet  and  a  half  in 
height,  I  should  say,  headed  the  ranks.  Just  then 

83  See  Admiral  Porter's  account ;  also  Col.  Crook's  and 
others. 

119 


a  telegram  was  received  and  announced: — "Lincoln 
is  dead;  he  has  been  assassinated"  1 1  All  was  at  a 
standstill.  The  very  heavens  seemed  to  be  dar- 
kened, a  cloud  of  sorrow  seemed  to  press  down 
upon  the  city.  That  tall  negro  in  front  trembled 
like  a  leaf  and  cried  like  a  child.  And  as  I  looked 
over  that  dark  cloud  of  humanity,  weeping  for  their 
benefactor,  and  in  sobbing  tones  crying  out: — "Oh 
Massa  Lincum,  Massa  Lincum,  Massa  Lincum  dead ! 
Massa  Lincum  dead ! !  Massa  Lincum  dead ! ! ! 
What  shall  we  do"?  and  such  like  expressions,  my 
own  eyes  filled  with  tears  and  my  heart  quivered 
with  sadness. 

The  Drama  Closing. 

A  drama,  unparalleled  in  history,  was  coming  to 
its  close.  A  drama,  not  a  play,  but  most  intensely 
real,  whose  every  act  was  crimsoned  with  the  blood 
of  heroes.  Scene  follows  scene  upon  the  Nation's 
tragic  stage,  until  the  assassin's  bullet  fells  the 
foremost  actor,  and  drops  the  curtain  in  the  gloom 
of  tragic  midnight. 

When  our  martyr  leader  died  slavery  had  been 
abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  prohib- 
ited in  the  Territories.  The  Emancipation  Procla- 
mation had  been  honored  in  the  Nation;  and  Con- 
gress had  already  passed  the  act  for  a  Constitu- 
tional amendment  abolishing  slavery  throughout 
the  Union.  While  several  of  the  States  had  already 
sanctioned  the  amendment;  Illinois  being  the  first 
and  Maryland  the  second. 

Lincoln  lived  until  the  old  flag  of  Sumpter,  after 
four  dreadful  years,  was  again  unfurled — on  the 
anniversary  of  its  lowering — to  wave  with  added 

120 


glory  the  triple  message — "Liberty  and  Union- 
Now  and  forever — One  and  inseparable."  He  lived 
to  see  the  War  practically  ended ;  the  Union  saved ; 
slavery  abolished;  the  Declaration  and  the  Consti- 
tution honored;  Free  government  no  longer  an  ex- 
periment, and  its  foundation  fully  established.  He 
saw  the  success  and  the  magnanimity  of  his  chosen 
General,  and  died  with  the  Nation  bowed  in  sorrow, 
and  the  nations  of  the  world  bringing  glad  tributes 
to  his  memory,  as  one  of  the  noblest  characters, 
and  one  of  the  ablest  statesmen,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  men  in  all  history. 

The    Chosen    Man.      True,    and    Equal    to    His 

Calling. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  not  an  accident,  nor  was 
he  a  prodigy.  He  was  a  man.  A  man  equipped  by 
nature  for  an  important  mission.  A  man  chosen  of 
God  and  selected  by  the  people.  He  took  good  care 
of  his  mental  and  moral  equipments,  put  them  to 
their  proper  use,  preserved  them  unsullied,  and  was 
not  disobedient  to  his  calling. 

His  brilliant  humor  and  kindly  wit  and  marvel- 
ous tact  in  story  telling,  especially  in  his  later 
years,  servied  him  well,  asi  "fritfti  on-saving  oil,"  while 
crushing  burdens  bore  down  upon  him  during  those 
fearful  years  of  Civil  War.  Somehow,  I  seek  not 
here  to  diagnose  the  case,  but  somehow,  nature,  or 
environments,  or  experience — too  sacred,  perchance, 
to  uncover  or  disclose — cast  a  lasting  shade  of 
gloom  upon  his  soul  and  left  its  impress  upon  the 
mirthful,  melancholy,  changeful  visage  of  that 
"strange  and  lonely  man."  But  through  it  all,  and 
overmastering  all,  we  find  a  keen,  clear,  strong,  vlg- 

121 


orous  intellect.  His  broad  humanity,  his  marked 
simplicity,  his  utter  unassumption,  dispassionate 
self-possession,  the  various  traits  of  his  moral 
greatness — we  do  not  undervalue,  and  from  them 
we  would  not  detract  one  jot  or  tittle;  but  some- 
times these  qualities  of  the  heart  have  been  mag- 
nified at  the  expense  of  his  mental  powers. 

Lincoln  was  a  many  sided  man.  He  was  a  man 
of  brains  as  well  as  heart.  As  a  recent  writer  has 
put  it,  "He  was  many  men  in  one,  and  each  is 
worthy  of  a  volume."  His  homely  wit  and  thor- 
ough grasp  of  human  nature ;  his  incisive  humor, 
and  marked  common  sense ;  his  intuition ;  his  silent 
endurance  of  cruel  calumny,  and  groundless  cen- 
sure; his  tender  sympathy  and  kindly  tolerance; 
his  great  forbearance  and  guileless  mercy ;  his  re- 
markable faith  and  faultless  patience — stood  out 
like  the  work  of  a  master  artist  upon  the  clear  and 
symmetrical  background  of  a  most  remarkable  in- 
tellect. 

The  time  has  now  come  when  the  keenest  and 
most  severe  of  critics,  looking  back  over  the  re- 
ceding years,  and  sitting  in  calm  reflection  and 
humble  judgment  upon  his  life  and  work,  must 
needs  assert  the  superiority  and  greatness  of  his 
intellect,  and  admire  the  marvelous  breadth  and 
scope  of  his  mental  grasp.  His  intellect,  however, 
may  not  be  regarded  as  superior  to,  or  to  transcend 
the  strength  and  beauty  of  his  character — his  moral 
and  spiritual  qualities,  which  stand  out  prominent- 
ly in  his  life  and  work.  His  keen  sense  of  justice, 
his  lofty  disinterestedness,  his  frankness,  caution, 
candor  and  sincerity,  his  rigid  honesty,  modesty, 

122 


fidelity,  and  moral  courage,  his  rugged  dignity,  pa- 
tience and  magnanimity,  his  love  for  and  faith  in 
God,  and  the  common  people — these  were  rooted  in 
his  soul,  grew  up  in  the  byways  of  his  private  life, 
budded  in  public  office  as  servant  of  the  people,  and 
blossomed  in  sacred  memory  and  lasting  fame  as 
he  closed  his  eventful  life. 

He  proved  himself  possessed  of  master  powers 
of   mind*   could   grasp   the   situation,    discern   the 
needs  and  dictate  the  ways  and  means  of  action, 
when  the  Nation's  grave  had  been  dug  and  the 
funeral    ceremonies    had    been    announced;    when 
statesmen  of  the  highest  rank  hesitated,  and  pa- 
triots  trembled ;    when   diplomats    looked    on   and 
prophesied   defeat;    an   intellect   that  could   pene- 
trate the  intricacies  of   the   impending  crisis,   up 
towards    which    the    ages    had    been    moving — the 
complex  problem  how  to  save  the  Nation,  and  in  the 
wreck  of  war,  when  peaceful  means  had  proved  un- 
availing, the  corollary  how  to  save  a  race  from 
bondage.    Here  as  leader,  and  in  living  sympathy 
with   this   great   movement,   so   momentous   in   its 
source  and  outcome,  and  in  which  a  thousand  bat- 
tlefields   attest    the    peerless    valor    of    American 
hearts,  and  the  deathless  glory  of  American  arms; 
here  with  statesmen  of  world-wide  renown,  war- 
riors of  historic  fame,  and  patriots  undaunted  in 
defeat,  and  those  who  died  for  victory ;  here  fore- 
most in  this  glorious  galaxy  of  the  great  and  the 
brave,   with    the   searchlight   of   the   world's   best 
critics  thrown  back  upon  those  dreadful  years,  when 
brother    fought    against    brother    for    what    each 
thought  was   right;    here  we   look   upon  the   man 

123 


whose  hatred  for  slavery,  and  whose  devotion  to  the 
Union  never  wavered,  but  who  could  direct  the 
matchless  fight  of  history  without  hatred  or  re- 
sentment towards  whom  the  death  dealing  thun- 
derbolts of  war  were  hurled  with  remorseless  fury ; 
whose  courage  was  out  of  touch  with  passion; 
whose  great  heart  found  no  place  for  prejudice  or 
malice,  which  it  has  taken  years  to  banish  from 
the  hearts  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  conquering 
and  the  conquered,  but  whose  endearing  qualities, 
like  golden  twilight  shining  forward,  now  touch 
with  kindred  pride  the  hearts  of  those  who  wore 
the  blue  and  those  who  wore  the  gray ;  the  man  in 
whom  was  manifest  the  rare  combination  which 
demonstrates — "the  greatness  of  real  goodness,  and 
the  goodness  of  real  greatness."  A  man  in  whom 
was  joined  together  a  great  heart,  full  of  simplic- 
ity, gentleness,  patience,  forbearance,  mercy,  sym- 
pathy, with  an  intellect  profound  and  solid  ;84  a 
will  like  flint,  and  courage  invincible  as  that  of 
the  "Black  Prince,"  whose  strong  arm  and  cold 
determination  added  to  England's  history  one  of 
her  most  splendid  chapters. 

We  may  not  here  attempt  to  unfold  these  traits, 
or  to  picture  them  in  their  force  and  beauty  as  he 
possessed  them.  Each  is-  worthy  of  a  chapter.  On 
every  hand  they  find  expression  in  his  life  and 
work.  His  life  was  not  the  play  of  head  or  heart 

84  It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  Lincoln's  Intellect 
was  slow  in  Its  working.  But  any  apparent  slowness,  I 
am  persuaded,  may  be  accounted  for  in  his  effort  to 
reach  absolute,  or  practical  truth  through  reasoning.  Mr. 
Sweet,  private  Secretary  of  Robert  T.  Lincoln,  once  said 
to  the  author: — "He  was  not  slow  in  his  thinking,  but 
quick  in  his  thinking ;  he  was  careful,  however,  in  reach- 
ing correct  conclusions." 

124 


alone,  or  of  some  stray  virtue  grown  to  abnormal 
strength ;  but  a  character  full  and  rounded  out.  The 
wisdom  of  a  sage  seemed  coupled  to  the  simplicity 
of  a  child.  Those  years  of  war  when  Lincoln  stands* 
transcendant — when  days  were  as  the  years  and 
years  were  as  the  ages — were  hero-making  years, 
and  epoch-making  years.  Fame  winged  her  flight 
from  vale  and  darkness  to  the  mountain  peaks  of 
history.  Merit  climbed  the  rugged  steeps  and  left 
her  lasting  placard  on  the  heights  above.  Genius 
burst  her  barriers  and  gave  her  golden  treasures 
to  the  world.  In  1865  Lincoln  was  something 
more  than  he  was  in  1826,  in  1834,  in  1842,  in  1848, 
in  1854,  in  1856,  in  1858,  or  in  1861.  He  grew  like 
others  in  those  character-making  years  of  war.  But 
as  a  man  his  measure  has  not  yet  been  fully  taken, 
and  cannot  be  until  that  great  heart  with  its  en- 
dearing qualities,  and  that  no  less  marvelous  intel- 
lect, shall  be  comprehended  in  their  union,  as  they 
really  were,  the  one  in  two  and  the  two  in  one,  each 
stimulating  and  illuminating  the  other,  and  both 
guiding  the  man  in  his  appointed  work  to  form  an 
inseparable  brotherhood  of  the  American  people, 
who,  under  the  added  beauty  of  the  Old  Flag,  on 
land  and  sea,  are  now  at  the  open  door,  in  the  far 
off  Orient,  to  guard  and  dictate  peace  to  the  na- 
tions of  the  world. 

Noted  Ones  of  Eighteen  Hundred  Nine. 

Noted  men  and  women  share  with  Lincoln  the 
birth-year  of  eighteen  hundred  and  nine.  Poets  and 
Musicians,  Scientists  and  Statesmen.  Alfred  Ten- 
nyson, Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning,  Edgar  Allen 
Poe  and  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  have  gladdened 

125 


with  poetry  the  ears  and  hearts  of  the  century  gone. 
Albert  Pike,  the  traveler-poet-journalist-lawyer ; 
soldier  in  the  Mexican  war,  a  commander  in  the 
Confederate  army ;  a  Mason  world  renowned,  and 
for  nearly  fifty  years  leader  of  the  craft  in  the 
Southern  jurisdiction  of  the  Scottish  Rite.  Men- 
delssohn, the  great  composer  of  Oratorios,  and 
Frederick  Chopin,  the  master  pianist ;  Charles  Dar- 
win, the  man  of  brains,  the  master  analyst  who 
has  taught  us  seriously  to  think  on  evolution.  Our 
own  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  the  silver  tongued  orator, 
the  Christian  statesman,  from  the  Old  Bay  state, 
and  Hannibal  Hamlin,  the  man  of  granite  princi- 
ples, the  sheet  anchor  of  our  Senate  when  the 
storm  of  war  was  raging;  and  then  Gladstone, 
the  scholar,  the  writer,  the  peerless  statesman,  the 
"Grand  Old  Man  of  England."  And  yet  the  world, 
today,  turns  to  Lincoln,  first  of  all,  among  the 
noted  ones  of  1800. 

Greatness  Unveiled. 

Here  we  look  upon  human  greatness,  unveiled, 
and  destined  to  stand  the  tests  of  time,  because  a 
human  soul,  endowed  with  powers  immortal,  suited 
for  and  called  to  a  special  work  in  the  great  world- 
movement,  cared  for,  cultivated,  and  exercised  those 
powers — took  in  the  principles  of  his  mission,  di- 
gested them  and  made  them  a  part  of  himself; 
then,  ambitious  for  the  goal,  dared  to  be  honest; 
dared  to  be  unpopular  when  he  knew  he  was  right ; 
dared  to  be  unselfish ;  dared  to  do  the  right ;  dared 
to  be  true ;  dared  to  do  his  duty ;  dared  to  trust  in 
God  ;  DARED  TO  BE  A  MAN  ! ! 

126 


CbartSs  Darwin  I  Eiizakstb  8-  Brawh'ing 


NOTABLE  CHARACTERS  BORN  IN  1809. 


The  Nation's  Product. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  product  of  our  free  in- 
stitutions. Born  and  reared  in  poverty,  undaunted 
by  defeat  and  unsullied  by  prosperity,  he  rose 
against  fearful  odds  to  the  topmost  point  of  human 
power.  He  was  endowed  with  the  qualities  of 
greatness.  He  had  the  noblest  qualities  of  a  man, 
the  highest  requisites  of  a  leader,  the  keenest  in- 
stincts of  a  statesman,  the  heart  and  the  soul  of  a 
patriot.  With  cool  head,  and  clear  thinking,  and 
farsightedness,  he  moved  steadily  forward  without 
halt  or  hurry.  Measured  by  what  he  accomplished, 
he  stands  in  the  foremost  rank  among  the  greatest 
characters  of  history. 

In  the  dark  hours  of  our  greatest  danger,  un- 
tried and  little  known,  he  took  the  Ship  of  State, 
guided  her  through  the  storm  of  Civil  War,  and 
brought  her  at  last,  through  the  crimson  tempest, 
into  the  harbor  of  peace  and  universal  freedom.  He 
sought  not  fame,  but  victory  for  the  right.  Pos- 
sessed of  the  martyr  spirit,  firm,  unselfish,  just  and 
tenderhearted,  confident,  wise,  cautious,  fearless, 
but  prayerful  and  kindly  patient,  he  moved  with 
care  and  caution  lest  some  interest  of  the  Nation 
should  suffer,  or  some  flower  of  humanity  should 
be  crushed. 

His  work  was  great  but  it  was  simply  done.  We 
did  not  understand  him  then;  but  when  he  left  us 
to  receive  a  martyr's  crown,  we  began  to  realize 
that  we  had  entertained  a  God-inspired  man — an 
angel  unawares.  His  rugged,  quaint  and  gentle 
characteristics  blend  in  harmony,  when  reflected  in 
his  spotless  life,  and  the  war-crimsoned  years  in 

127 


which  he  rose  as  the  standard  bearer,  the  savior 
of  an  imperiled  Nation  and  the  Emancipator  of  a 
down  trodden  race. 

The  Bivouac  and  the  Crown  of  Honor. 

Enter  with  me,  if  you  will,  the  Bivouac  of  our 
dead.  But  speak  gently,  tread  lightly,  for  four 
hundred  thousand  of  our  martyr  dead  are  sleeping 
here,  and  other  thousands,  just  as  brave,  and  just 
as  noble,  are  sleeping  by  their  side.  First  and  fore- 
most of  this  martyr  band  is  the  Lincoln  of  our 
war-scarred  years;  dear  to  us  because  he  died  for 
the  Nation  which  he  saved,  and  for  the  freedom  of 
a  race;  and  doubly  dear  to  the  Nation  and  to  the 
world  because  of  his  tragic  end,  and  the  method  of 
his  death. 

No  ruthless  hand  or  impious  tongue  may  dare  to 
desecrate  that  place  or  name,  for  North  and  South 
— the  Soldier  South — vie  with  each  other  in  their 
guard,  and  the  nations  extend  their  watch  of  sym- 
pathy and  admiration. 

Standing  by  his  side  on  that  sad  and  fatal  morn- 
ing, when  the  great  leader  had  breathed  his  last, 
Edward  M.  Stanton  turned  to  those  beside  him, 
saying :  "Now  he  belongs  to  the  ages."  Truer  and 
more  prophetic  words  were  never  spoken.  Lincoln 
belongs  to  us ;  he  belongs  to  our  generation ;  he  be- 
longs to  our  Country.  We  cannot  give  him  up.  But 
the  whole  world  today  claims  him  for  the  race ;  and 
has  placed  him  in  his  niche  of  fame  alongside  our 
Washington,  and  among  the  greatest  characters  of 
all  history.  And  the  years  as  they  roll  by,  and  the 
centuries  as  they  come  and  go,  will  add  resplendant 

128 


glory  to  the  fame  of  him  who  was  Master  of  him- 
self; Master  of  the  God-inspired  truth;  "All  men 
created  free  and  equal" ;  Master  of  those  arrayed 
against  him ;  Master  of  foreign  diplomats  who  fig- 
ured In  the  War ;  Master  of  the  great  men  and  the 
noble  army  who  helped  him  to  do  his  work ;  Mas- 
ter of  the  Heaven-born  mission  committed  to  his 
trust— ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


129 


APPENDIX. 


U^-   c£**^~>JL 

V^ 

/ 


4. 


O 


<S  yo^ 


APPENDIX. 


LINCOLN'S  FAREWELL  ADDRESS  AT  SPRINGFIELD. 

My  friends  :  No  one,  not  in  my  position,  can  realize 
the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.  To  this  people  I 
owe  all  that  I  am.  Here  I  have  lived  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  Here  my  children  were  born,  and 
here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  know  not  how  soon  I 
shall  see  you  again.  I  go  to  assume  a  task  more  diffi- 
cult than  that  which  has  developed  upon  any  other  man 
since  the  days  of  Washington.  He  never  would  have 
succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence,  upon 
which  he  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  cannot  suc- 
ceed without  the  same  Divine  blessing  which  sustained 
him  ;  and  on  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reli- 
ance for  support.  And  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all 
pray  that  1  may  receive  that  Divine  assistance,  without 
which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which  success  is  cer- 
tain. Again,  I  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell. 

FIRST  INAUGURAL.— March  4,  1861. 

In  compliance  with  a  custom  as  old  as  the  government 
itself,  I  appear  before  you  to  address  you  briefly,  and 
to  take  in  your  presence  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  to  be  taken  by  the  Pres- 
ident "before  he  enters  upon  the  execution  of  his  office." 

*  *  * 

Apprehension  seems  to  exist,  among  the  people  of 
the  Southern  states,  that  by  the  accession  of  a  Repub- 
lican administration  their  property  and  their  peace  and 
personal  security  are  to  be  endangered.  There  has  never 
been  any  real  cause  for  such  apprehension.  Indeed  the 
most  ample  evidence  to  the  contrary  has  all  the  while 
existed  and  been  open  to  their  inspection.  *  *  * 

I  hold  that  in  contemplation  of  universal  law,  and  of 
the  Constitution,  the  union  of  the  states  is  perpetual. 
Perpetuity  is  implied,  if  not  expressed,  in  the  funda- 
mental law  of  all  national  governments.  *  *  * 

I  therefore  consider  that,  in  view  of  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws,  the  Union  is  unbroken,  and  to  the  extent 
of  my  ability  I  shall  take  care,  as  the  Constitution  itself 
expressly  enjoins  upon  me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union 
"be  faithfully  executed  in  all  the  states.  *  *  * 

In  doing  this  there  need  be  no  bloodshed  nor  violence, 
and  there  shall  be  none,  unless  it  be  forced  upon  the 
national  authority.  The  power  confided  to  me  will  be 
used  to  hold,  and  occupy,  and  possess  the  property  and 

133 


places  belonging  to  the  government,  and  to  collect  the 
duties  and  imports  ;  but  beyond  what  may  be  necessary 
for  these  objects  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no  using  of 
force  against  or  among  the  people  anywhere.  *  *  * 

This  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the 
people  who  inhabit  it.  Whenever  they  shall  grow  weary 
of  the  existing  government,  they  can  exercise  the  con- 
stitutional right  of  amending,  or  their  revolutionary 
right  to  dismember  or  overthrow  it.  I  cannot  be  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  many  worthy  and  patriotic  citizens  are 
desirous  of  having  the  national  Constitution  amended. 

*  *  * 

My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly  and  well 
upon  this  whole  subject.  Nothing  valuable  can  be  lost 
by  taking  time.  If  there  be  an  object  to  hurry  any  of 
you  in  hot  haste  to  a  step  which  you  would  never  take 
deliberately,  that  object  will  be  frustrated  by  taking 
time ;  but  no  good  object  can  be  frustrated  by  it.  Such 
of  you  as  are  now  dissatisfied,  still  have  the  old  Con- 
stitution unimpaired,  and  on  the  sensitive  point,  the 
laws  of  your  own  framing  under  it.  The  new  adminis- 
tration will  have  no  immediate  power,  if  it  would,  to 
change  either.  If  it  were  admitted  that  you  who  are 
dissatisfied  hold  the  right  side  in  the  dispute,  there  is 
no  single  good  reason  for  precipitate  action.  Intelli- 
gence, patriotism,  Christianity,  and  a  firm  reliance  upon 
Him,  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored  land,  are 
still  competent  to  adjust,  in  the  best  way,  all  our  pres- 
ent difficulties.  *  *  * 

In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and 
not  In  mine,  are  the  momentous  issues  of  civil  war. 
The  government  will  not  assail  you. 

You  can  have  no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  the 
aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to 
destroy  the  government,  while  I  have  the  most  solemn 
one  to  "preserve,  protect,  and  defend  It." 

I  am  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends. 
We  must  not  be  enemies ;  though  passion  may  have 
strained,  it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection. 

The  mystic  chord  of  memory,  stretching  from  every 
battlefield  and  patriot  crave  to  every  living  heart  and 
hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will  yet  swell  the 
chorus  of  the  Union,  when  attain  touched,  as  surely 
they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ADDRESS  AT  GETTYSBURG. — Nov.   19,  1863. 

Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought 
forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty 
and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created 
equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  test- 
ing whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and 
so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great 
battlefield  of  that  war.  We  have  come  to  dedicate  a 

134 


portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting  place  for  those 
who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live. 
It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do 
this.  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate,  we 
cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The 
brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here  have 
consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract. 
The  world  will  little  note  nor  long  remember  what  we 
say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here. 
It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to 
the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be 
here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us, 
that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devo- 
tion to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full 
measure  of  devotion ;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ;  that  this  nation, 
under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the 
people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

LINCOLN'S    SECOND   INAUGURAL.— March    4,    1865. 

Fellow  Countrymen  :  At  this  second  appearing  to  take 
the  oath  of  the  Presidential  office  there  is  less  occasion 
for  an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the  first. 
Then  a  statement,  somewhat  in  detail,  of  a  course  to  be 
pursued  seemed  fitting  and  proper.  Now,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  four  years,  during  which  public  declarations  have 
been  constantly  called  forth  on  every  point  and  phase 
of  the  great  contest  which  still  absorbs  the  attention 
and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the  nation,  little  that  is 
new  can  be  presented.  The  progress  of  our  arms,  upon 
which  all  else  chiefly  depends,  is  as  well  known  to  the 
public  as  to  myself ;  and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satis- 
factory and  encouraging  to  all.  With  high  hope  for  the 
future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it  is  ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this  four  years  ago, 
all  thoughts  were  anxiously  directed  to  an  impending 
civil  war.  All  dreaded  it — all  sought  to  avert  it.  While 
the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered  from  this 
place,  devoted  altogether  to  saving  the  Union  without 
war,  insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city  seeking  to  destroy 
it  without  war — seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union,  and  divide 
effects,  by  negotiation.  Both  parties  deprecated  war ; 
but  one  of  them  would  make  war  rather  than  let  the 
nation  survive,  and  the  other  would  accept  war  rather 
than  let  it  perish.  And  the  war  came. 

One-eigTfth  of  the  whole  population  were  colored 
slaves,  not  distributed  generally  over  the  Union,  but 
localized  in  the  Southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  con- 
stituted a  peculiar  and  powerful  interest.  All  knew 
that  this  interest  was,  somehow,  the  cause  of  the  war. 
To  strengthen,  perpetuate,  and  extend  this  interest  was 
the  object  for  which  the  insurgents  would  rend  the 
Union,  even  by  war ;  while  the  government  claimed  no 

135 


right  to  do  more  than  to  restrict  the  territorial  enlarge- 
ment of  it. 

Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magnitude  or 
the  duration  which  it  has  already  attained.  Neither 
anticipated  that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  might  cease 
with,  or  even  before,  the  conflict  itself  should  cease. 
Each  looked  for  an  easier  triumph,  and  a  result  less 
fundamental  and  astounding.  Both  read  the  same  Bible 
and  pray  to  the  same  God ;  and  each  invokes  His  aid 
against  the  other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any  men 
should  dare  to  ask  a  just  God's  assistance  in  wringing 
their  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces ;  but 
let  us  judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of 
both  could  not  be  answered — that  of  neither  has  been 
answered  fully. 

The  Almighty  has  His  own  purposes.  "Wo  unto  the 
world  because  of  offenses !  for  it  must  needs  be  that 
offenses  come ;  but  wo  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offense 
cometh."  If  we  shall  suppose  that  American  slavery 
is  one  of  those  offenses  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued  through 
His  appointed  time,  He  now  wills  to  remove,  and  that 
He  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible  war,  as 
the  wo  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offense  came,  shall  we 
discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  divine  at- 
tributes which  the  believers  in  a  living  God  always 
ascribe  to  Him  ?  Fondly  do  we  hope — fervently  do  we 
pray — that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily 
pass  away.  Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  shall  continue  until 
all  the  wealth  piled  up  by  the  bondsman's  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid 
by  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three 
thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  "The  judg- 
ments of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none  ;  with  charity  for  all ;  with 
firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right, 
let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in  ;  to  bind 
up  the  nation's  wounds ;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have 
borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow,  and  his  orphan — 
to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and 
lasting  peace  among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations. 

LETTER  TO  ERASTUS  CORNING. 

In  our  judgment,  one  of  the  great  masterpieces  of 
Lincoln  has  had  but  little  notice,  comparatively,  in 
books  or  from  the  press.  I  refer  to  the  letter  written 
June  12th,  1863,  to  Erastus  Corning  of  New  York,  in 
answer  to  resolutions  passed  In  a  public  meeting  at 
Albany,  New  York,  touching  the  suspension  of  "habeas 
corpus"  in  the  case  of  the  military  arrest  of  C.  L. 
Vallandigham.  In  a  few  words  Mr.  Lincoln  answers  the 
document  sent  by  Mr.  Corning,  and  then  adds :  "And 
here  I  ought  to  close  this  paper,  and  would  close  It,  if 
there  were  no  apprehension  that  more  injurious  conse- 

13Q 


quences  than  any  merely  personal  to  myself  might  follow 
the  censures  systematically  cast  upon  me  for  doing  what, 
In  my  view  of  duty,  I  could  not  forbear."  He  proceeds 
with  one  of  the  most  masterly  delineations  of  political 
principles,  and  dissection  of  treasonable  activities,,  ever 
unfolded  in  its  line,  perhaps,  in  our  National  history. 
Kb  attempt  was  made  by  Mr.  Corning  or  any  one  else 
to  answer  this  letter.  We  must  content  ourselves  here 
with  a  mere  extract  of  the  letter.  "He  (Vallandigham) 
was  not  arrested  because  he  was  damaging  the  political 
prospects  of  the  administration  or  the  personal  interests 
of  the  commanding  General  (Burnside),  but  because  he 
was  damaging  the  army,  upon  the  existence  and  vigor 
of  which  the  life  of  the  Nation  depends.  He  was  war- 
ring upon  the  military,  and  this  gave  the  military  con- 
stitutional jurisdiction  to  lay  hands  upon  him.  If 
Vallandigham  was  not  damaging  the  military  power  of 
the  country,  then  his  arrest  was  made  on  mistake  of  fact, 
which  I  would  be  glad  to  correct  on  reasonably  satis- 
factory evidence. 

"I  understand  the  meeting  whose  resolutions  I  am 
considering  to  be  in  favor  of  suppressing  the  rebellion 
by  military  force  —  by  armies.  Long  experience  has 
shown  that  armies  cannot  be  maintained  unless  deser- 
tion shall  be  punished  by  the  severe  penalty  of  death. 
The  case  requires,  and  the  law  and  the  Constitution 
sanction,  this  punishment.  Must  I  shoot  a  simple-minded 
soldier  boy  who  deserts,  while  I  must  not  touch  a  hair 
of  a  wily  agitator  who  induces  him  to  desert?"  (Ad- 
dresses &  c.  11, 


LINCOLN'S  FAVORITE  POEM.* 

O  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud? 
Like  a  swift-fleeting  meteor,  a  fast  flying  cloud, 
A  flash  of  the  lightning,  a  break  of  the  wave, 
He  passelh  from  life  to  his  rest  In  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  the  oak  and  the  willow  shall  fade, 

Be  scattered  around,  and  together  be  laid  ; 

And  the  young  and  the  old,  and  the  low  and  the  high, 

Shall  molder  to  dust,  and  together  shall  lie. 

The  infant  a  mother  attended  and  loved  ; 
The  mother  that   infant's   affection   who   proved  ; 
The  husband  that   mother   and   infant   who   blest  — 
Each,  all,  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  rest. 

The  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eye, 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure  —  her  triumphs  are  by  ; 
And  the  memory  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised, 
Are  alike  from  the  minds  of  the  living  erased. 


*Lincoln's  favorite  poem  is  here  given  because  it  re- 
flects, as  In  a  mirror,  much  of  his  reserve,  thought,  and 
character. 

137 


The  hand  of  the  king  that  the  scepter  hath  borne ; 
The  brow  of  the  priest  that  the  miter  hath  worn ; 
Te  eye  of  the  sage,  and  the  heart  of  the  brave, 
Are  hidden  and  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  grave. 

The  peasant,  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap ; 
The  herdsman,  who  climbed  with  his  goats  up  the  steep ; 
The  beggar,  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread, 
Have  faded  away,  like  the  grass  that  we  tread. 

The  saint,  who  enjoyed  the  communion  of  heaven ; 
The  sinner,  who  dared  to  remain  unforgiven  ; 
The  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  guilty  and  just, 
Have  quietly  mingled  their  bones  in  the  dust. 

So  the  multitude  goes — like  the  flower  of  the  weed, 
That  withers  away  to  let  others  succeed ; 
So  the  multitude   comes — even  those  we  behold, 
To  repeat  every  tale  that  has  often  been  told. 

For  we  are  the  same  our  fathers  have  been ; 
We  see  the  same  sights  our  fathers  have  seen ; 
We  drink  the  same  stream,  we  view  the  same  sun, 
And  run  the  same  course  our  fathers  have  run. 

The  thoughts  we  are  thinking,  our  fathers  would  think ; 
From    the    death    we    are    shrinking    our    fathers    would 

shrink  ; 

To  the  life  we  are  clinging,  they  also  would  cling ; 
But  It  speeds  from  us  all  like  a  bird  on  the  wing. 

They  loved — but  the  story  we  can  not  unfold ; 
They  scorned — but  the  heart  of  the  haughty  is  cold  ; 
They  grieved — but  no  wail  from  their  slumber  will  come ; 
They  joyed — but  the  tongue  of  their  gladness  is  dumb. 

They  died — ay,  they  died — we  things  that  are  now, 
That  walk  on   the  turf  that   lies  over  their  brow, 
And  make  in  their  dwellings  a  transient  abode, 
Meet  the  things  that  they  met  on  their  pilgrimage  road. 

Yea !    hope  and   despondency,    pleasure  and   pain, 
Are  mingled  together  in  sunshine  and  rain  ; 
And  the  smile  and  the  tear,  the  song  and  the  dirge. 
Still   follow  each  other,   like  surge  upon  surge. 

'Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye,  'tis  the  draught  of  a  breath, 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud — 
O  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud? 

— William  Knox. 
138 


TRIBUTES. 

Authors  and  Statesmen. 

As  a  child,  in  a  dark  night,  on  a  rugged  way,  catches 
hold  of  the  hand  of  its  father  for  guidance  and  support, 
Lincoln  clung  fast  to  the  hand  of  the  people  and  moved 
calmly  through  the  gloom.  *  *  *  He  finished  a  work 
which  all  time  cannot  overthrow. — George  Bancroft. 

That  swarthy  face,  with  its  strong  features,  its  deep 
furrows,  and  its  benignant  melancholy  eyes,  is  familiar 
to  every  American.  *  *  *  Everybody  in  the  civilized 
world  knows  and  loves  him.  *  *  *  The  sureness  of 
his  outlook  and  the  courageous  firmness  of  his  attitude 
proves  that  he  was  not  a  mere  follower  of  other  men's 
minds,  but  leader  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  term. — Carl 
Schurz. 

Lincoln's  monument  is  not  at  Springfield  by  the  Sanga- 
mon,  but  everywhere  in  the  hearts  of  the  American 
people ;  in  the  hearts  of  the  millions  of  Freed  men, 
among  whom  will  always  be  cherished  the  name  of  Lin- 
coln, the  emancipator  of  the  colored  race  in  the  United 
States. — Wm.  H.  Upham — ex-Gov.,  Wis. 

Mr.  Lincoln  became  the  leader  of  a  great  and  power- 
ful party.  *  *  *  He  was  called  by  the  American 
people  to  lead  them  out  from  the  domination  of  an  arro- 
gant section.  He  was  true  to  his  mission,  and  died  the 
death  of  a  martyr. — General  John  M.  Palmer. 

Lincoln  is  certainly  the  most  sagacious  and  far-seeing 
statesman  in  the  annals  of  American  history.  *  *  * 
He  was  the  greatest  man  of  his  time.  History  abundantly 
proves  his  superiority  as  a  leader,  and  establishes  his 
constant  reliance  upon  a  higher  power  for  guidance  and 
support.  The  tendency  of  this  age  is  to  exaggeration, 
but  of  him  none  have  spoken  more  highly  than  those 
who  knew  him  best.  *  *  *  Lincoln  is  not  far  re- 
moved from  us ; — not  surrounded  by  the  mists  of  an- 
tiquity ; — not  by  a  halo  of  idolatry  that  is  impenetrable. 
*  *  *  His  name  has  leaped  the  bounds  of  party  and 
country  and  now  belongs  to  mankind  and  to  the  ages, — 
prophet  and  master  without  a  rival  In  the  greatest  crisis 
of  our  history.  *  *  *  The  martyr  of  liberty,  the 
emancipator  of  a  race.  His  deeds  will  live  in  human 
history  forever. — Pres.  William  McKinley. 

Lincoln  saw  into  the  future  with  the  prophetic  imag- 
ination usually  vouchsafed  only  to  the  poet  and  the 
seer.  *  *  *  He  had  the  practical  man's  hard  com- 
mon sense.  No  more  practical  man  ever  lived  than  this 
homely  backwoods  idealist.  This  nation  will  grow  to 
feel  a  peculiar  sense  of  pride  in  the  man  whose  blood 
was  shed  for  the  Union  and  for  the  freedom  of  a  race ; 
the  lover  of  his  country  and  of  all  mankind;  the  might- 
iest of  the  mighty  men  who  mastered  the  mighty  days. — 
Theodore  Roosevelt. 

139 


*  *  *  Lincoln  is  one  of  the  great  men  of  this 
country,  a  very  able  lawyer,  a  most  skillful  and  eloquent 
orator, — a  great  statesman. — Stephen  A.  Douglas. 

He  whom  the  nation  loved  and  laments  was  called 
to  his  high  station  at  a  most  portentious  crisis,  at  the 
commencement  of  a  war  almost  without  a  parallel  in 
human  history.  *  *  *  His  noble  qualities  inspired 
general  confidence  and  commanded  general  respect,  and 
his  successful  administration  will  be  evidence,  in  all  time 
to  come,  of  his  own  worth  and  the  wisdom  of  hia 
measures. — Lewis  Cass. 

If  that  high  eulogium  (pronounced  by  Macaulay  on 
Washington,  in  his  essay  on  Hampden)  was  fully  earned, 
we  doubt  if  it  has  not  been  as  well  earned  by  the  Illinois 
peasant-proprietor  and  "village  lawyer,"  whom,  by  some 
Divine  inspiration  of  Providence,  the  Republican  caucas 
of  1860  substituted  for  Mr.  Seward  as  their  nominee  for 
the  President's  chair.  *  *  *  Finding  himself  the  ob- 
ject of  abuse  so  fierce  and  so  foul  *  *  *  ;  Mocked  at 
for  his  official  awkwardness,  and  denounced  for  his  stead- 
fast policy  *  *  * ;  tried  by  years  of  failure  before 
that  policy  achieved  a  single  great  success.  Further 
tried  by  a  series  of  successes  so  rapid  and  brilliant  that 
they  would  have  puffed  up  a  smaller  mind  and  overset 
its  balance;  beset  by  fanatica  of  principle  on  the  one 
hand  *  *  *  and  by  fanatics  of  caste  on  the  other 
*  *  *  Mr.  Lincoln  has  persevered  through  all  without 
ever  giving  away  to  anger,  or  despondency,  or  exultation, 
or  popular  arrogance,  or  sectarian  fanaticism,  or  caste 
prejudice,  visibly  growing  in  force  of  character,  in  self- 
possession  and  in  magnanimity,  till  in  his  last  message 
to  Congress,  on  the  4th  of  March,  we  can  detect  no 
longer  the  rude  and  illiterate  mold  of  a  village  lawyer's 
thought,  but  find  ft  replaced  by  a  grasp  of  principle,  a 
dignity  of  manner,  and  solemnity  of  purpose  which  would 
have  been  unworthy  neither  of  Hampden  nor  of  Crom- 
well, while  his  gentleness  and  generosity  of  feeling 
towards  his  foes  are  almost  greater  than  we  should  ex- 
pect from  either  of  them.  *  *  *  We  doubt  if  any 
politician  has  even  shown  less  personal  ambition  and  a 
larger  power  of  trust. — Spectator,  London. 

He  stands  apart  in  striking  solitude,  an  enigma  to  all 
men.  *  *  *  Let  us  take  him  simply  as  Abraham 
Lincoln,  singular  and  solitary  as  we  all  see  that  he  was  : 
let  us  be  thankful  if  we  can  make  a  niche  big  enough 
for  him  among  the  world's  heroes,  without  worrying 
ourselves  about  the  proportion  which  It  may  bear  to 
other  niches ;  and  there  let  him  remain,  forever,  lonely, 
as  in  his  strange  life-time,  impressive,  mysterious,  un- 
measured and  unsolved. — John  T.  Morse. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  no  ordinary  man.  I  believe  that  the 
hand  of  God  may  be  traced  in  many  of  the  events  con- 
nected with  his  history,  and  that  he  was  specially  singled 
out  to  guide  our  government  in  these  troublesome  times. 

140 


*  *     *     His  greatness,  in  mental  characteristics,  rested 
on  a  quick  and  ready  perception  of  facts  ;  on  a  memory 
unusually   retentive ;    on   a   logical   turn  of  mind,   which 
followed,    sternly    and    unwaveringly,    every    link    in    the 
chain  of  thought  on  every  subject  he  was  called  to  inves- 
tigate.    *  *  *     His  moral  powers  gave  him  pre-eminence, 
— His  moral  integrity  gave  him  his  hold  on  the  people. 

*  *     *     The  great  act  on  which  his  fame  shall  rest  long 
after  his   frame   shall   moulder   away,   is   that   of  giving 
freedom  to  a  race.      *     *      * — Abraham   Lincoln  was  a 
good    man ;    known    as    an    honest,    temperate,    forgiving, 
just  man.     He  believed  in  Christ,  the  Savior  of  sinners, 
and  I  believe  was  sincere  in  trying  to  bring  his  life  in 
harmony  with   revealed  religion. — As  a  ruler  I   doubt   if 
any  President  has  ever  shown  such  trust  in  God. — Bishop 
Simpson. 

The  American  nation,  the  American  truths,  of  which 
our  President  was  the  anointed  and  supreme  embodiment, 
have  been  embodied  in  multitudes  of  heroes,  who 
marched  unknown  and  fell  unnoticed  in  our  ranks.  *  *  * 
God  brought  him  up  as  He  brought  David  up  from  the 
sheepfold  to  feed  Jacob,  his  inheritance. — The  gentlest, 
kindest,  most  indulgent  man  that  ever  ruled  a  State.  He 
lived  as  he  did,  and  he  died  as  he  did,  because  he  was 
what  he  was. — Phillips  Brooks. 

Down  the  ages  this  will  be  the  legend  of  America : 
Lincoln  saved  the  Union. — Archbishop  Ireland. 

Abraham  Lincoln  is  the  apotheosis  of  American  man- 
hood.— Dr.  Chas.  Edicard  Locke. 

He  was  the  gentlest  President  in  American  history, 
because  in  a  time  of  revolution  he  comprehended  the 
spirit  of  American  institutions,  grasped  the  purpose  of 
the  American  people,  and  embodied  them  in  an  act  of 
justice  and  humanity. — Lyman  Abbott. 

Mr.  Lincoln  is  the  best  man  I  ever  knew. — Rev.  Dr. 
H.  W.  Bellows. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  greatness  and  work  lay  in  his 
simp'le  manhood. — Robert  Collyer. 

Few  men  in  the  world's  history  have  been  privileged 
to  do  work  involving  so  much  benefit  to  mankind. — 
Neicman  Hall. 

There  is  no  side  but  Abraham  Lincoln's  side. — Winston 
Churchill. 

Measured  by  what  he  did,  he  towered  from  his  girth 
up  above  every  other  mere  man  for  six  thousand  years. 
— Bishop  Charles  H.  Fowler. 

Had  there  been  no  Lincoln,  the  sun  would  have  set  for- 
ever upon  the  work  of  Washington.  —  Dr.  James  M. 
Buckley. 

By  the  side  of  Armstrong  and  Garrison,  Lincoln  lives 
today.  In  the  very  highest  sense  he  lives  in  the  present 
more  potentially  than  fifty  years  ago. — Booker  T.  Wash- 
ington. 

141 


Every  element  of  Lincoln's  public  career  is  enriched 
by  the  setting  of  his  private  life  and  personal  work. 
*  *  *  *  He  was  human  in  the  highest  and  best  sense 
of  the  word.  *  *  *  His  devotion  to  his  wife  and 
children  was  as  abiding  and  unbounded  as  his  love  of 
country. — Hon.  George  W.  Julian. 

President  Lincoln  was  a  large  and  many  sided  man, 
and  yet  so  simple  that  no  one,  not  even  a  child,  could 
approach  him  without  feeling  that  he  had  found  in  him 
a  sympathising  friend.  *  *  *  He  was,  in  my  judg- 
ment, the  greatest  man  our  country  has  produced. — 
Judge  William  D.  Kelley. 

Mr.  Lincoln  came  very  near  being  a  perfect  man  ac- 
cording to  my  ideal  of  manhood.  *  *  *  He  is  beyond 
question  the  master  mind  of  the  Cabinet. — Judge  Edward 
Bates  (Atty.  Gen.  Lincoln  Cabinet). 

Homely,  honest,  ungainly  Lincoln  is  the  representa- 
tive man  of  the  country.  *  *  *  The  typical  Amer- 
ican pure  and  simple. — Prof.  Asa  Gray. 

Lincoln  surpassed  all  orators  in  eloquence ;  all  diplo- 
mats in  wisdom ;  all  statesmen  in  foresight ;  all  the 
most  ambitious  in  fame. — Hon.  John  J.  Ingaills. 

I  doubt  whether  man,  woman  or  child,  white  or  black, 
bond  or  free,  virtuoua  or  vicious,  ever  accosted,  or 
reached  forth  a  hand  to  Abraham  Lincoln  and  detected 
in  his  countenance  or  manner  any  repugnance  or  shrink- 
ing from  the  proffered  contact,  any  assumption  of  supe- 
riority or  betrayal  of  disdain.  *  *  *  Other  men  were 
helpful  and  nobly  did  their  part ;  yet  looking  back 
through  the  lifting  mists  of  those  seven  eventful,  tragic, 
trying,  glorious  years,  I  clearly  discern  the  one  Provi- 
dential leader,  the  indispensable  hero  of  the  great  drama, 
Abraham  Lincoln. — Horace  Greely. 

The  true  representative  of  this  continent ;  an  entirely 
public  man ;  father  of  his  country  ;  the  pulse  of  20,000,- 
000  throbbing  in  his  heart,  the  thought  of  their  minds 
articulated  by  their  tongues. — Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

Perhaps  none  of  our  Presidents  since  Washington  has 
stood  so  firm  in  the  confidence  of  the  people  as  Lincoln, 
after  three  years'  stormy  administration.  *  *  *  A 
profound  common  sense  is  the  best  genius  for  statesman- 
ship. Hitherto  the  wisdom  of  the  President's  measures 
has  been  justified  by  the  fact  that  they  always  resulted 
In  more  firmly  uniting  public  opinion. — James  Russell 
Lowell  (Atlantic,  Dec.  1863). 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  in  obscurity,  reared  in 
want  and  poverty  and  denied  educational  advantages, 
and  yet  he  stands  today  as  the  great  colossal  figure  of 
his  age  and  time.  *  *  *  We  knew  him  when  we  gave 
him  to  mankind.  The  world  knows  him  now. — Dr.  E. 
Hursh  (Chicago). 

He  left  upon  the  age  the  mighty  impress  of  his  vir- 
tues and  his  deeds. — Judge  Arthur  H.  Chetlain  (Chicago). 

142 


,    * 

'^i!  -  • 


ROAD  HKTWKK.X 

«.«»  '  .C" '; "'-•          BERMUDA HUNDRfeD 


XKNn'SFIHST  MNK  OK  INTRKX< .1IMKXTS 

OS  THK  XOHTH 


I  knew  him  as  a  boy  may  know  a  President  who  was 
never  too  busy  to  greet  him  kindly,  to  muss  his  hair,  to 
pull  his  ears,  and  to  say  gentle,  tender  words  of  the 
father  who  had  but  lately  passed  away. — Through  all 
these  years  the  wondrous  sweetness  of  that  beautiful, 
ugly  face  has  never  left  my  memory. — Stephen  A.  Doug- 
las, Jr. 

It  Is  the  province  of  a  physician  to  probe  deeply  the 
interior  lives  of  men ;  and  I  affirm  that  Mr.  Lincoln  is 
the  purest  hearted  man  with  whom  I  ever  came  in  con- 
tact.— Dr.  Robert  K.  Stone,  Lincoln's  family  physician. 

The  mission  of  all  great  men,  of  all  heroes,  who  are 
looked  upon  almost  as  demigods,  passes  away.  The 
President  of  the  Republic  is  suddenly  struck  down  at  the 
moment  of  his  triumph.  *  *  *  Lincoln,  a  martyr  to 
the  principles  which  he  represented,  now  belongs  to  his- 
tory and  to  posterity, — As  the  champion  of  freedom  in 
America,  Lincoln  drew,  without  hesitation,  the  sword  of 
the  Republic,  and  with  the  point  thereof  erased  from  the 
firm  code  that  anti-social  stigma,  that  blasphemy  against 
human  nature,  the  sad,  shameful,  infamous  codicil  of 
antiquated  societies,  the  dark  and  repugnant  abuse  of 
slavery  *  *  *  and  as  the  stars  of  the  Union  waved 
triumphant  over  the  fallen  ramparts  of  Petersburg  and 
Richmond — the  grave  opens,  and  the  strong  and  the  pow- 
erful fall  to  rise  no  more. — Great  man — I  purposely  re- 
peat great  man — the  man  who  makes  himself  great  by 
his  own  acts  and  by  his  own  genius  is  more  to  be  envied 
than  he  who  was  born  among  inherited  escutcheons  of 
nobility.  Lincoln  belongs  to  that  privileged  race — to  that 
aristocracy.  As  a  legislator  and  in  Congress,  he  pre- 
pared to  become  one  day  the  popular  chief  of  many 
millions,  the  defender  of  the  holy  principles  which  Wil- 
berforce  inaugurated. — Trampling  down  the  thorns  in  his 
path,  guiding  his  steps  amid  the  tears  and  the  blood  of 
so  many  holocausts,  he  still  lives  to  see  the  promised 
land. — The  great  athlete  stepped  into  the  ring  and  fell 
— a  martyr  to  the  noble  principles  of  which  this  noble 
epoch  has  reason  to  be  proud.  *  *  *  A  good  citizen 
and  a  great  Magistrate,  who,  himself,  piloted  his  people 
through  terrible  tempests,  and  succeeded  in  leading  them 
in  triumph  over  the  fallen  ramparts  of  slavery's  strong- 
hold.— L.  A.  Rebello  da  Silva  (House  of  Peers,  Lisbon). 

In  all  the  exigencies  of  civil  war,  this  upright  patriot 
had  but  one  purpose  in  view,  to  respect  his  oath  of  fidel- 
ity to  the  Constitution,  to  prevent  the  dismemberment 
of  the  great  Republic,  to  efface  the  only  stain  upon  its 
flag — slavery.  This  is  what  Abraham  Lincoln  has  real- 
ized ;  he  has  accomplished  this  gigantic  task,  without 
harm  to  the  liberty  of  the  people,  with  probity  and  en- 
ergy in  the  choice  of  means,  with  moderation  and  gen- 
erosity towards  the  vanquished. — People  of  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  to  people  of  U.  8.  A. 

143 


Abraham  Lincoln,  the  mighty  leader  of  these  great 
events,  the  manly  model  of  civic  virtue,  of  pure  and 
noble  humanity,  will  be  held  holy  in  the  memory  of  the 
inhabitants  of  his  native  land,  and  be  worshipped  by  the 
world.  —  Johanne  Pflster,  Buren-Berne,  Suritzerland. 
(Teacher.) 

Abraham  Lincoln,  one  of  the  greatest  men  who  ever 
lived  upon  this  earth.— Jo hn  Kilchman,  Lucerne.  (In 
the  Bund.) 

Abraham  Lincoln, — the  man  with  the  brow  of  iron 
and  the  heart  of  gold.  *  *  *  When  men  in  after 
years  shall  commemorate  Good  Friday  as  the  death-day 
of  their  holy  Redeemer,  they  will  remember  it  as  the 
day  of  martyrdom  for  his  truest  disciple,  the  liberator 
of  millions  of  slaves,  the  noble  paragon  of  virtue  and 
humanity — Abraham  Lincoln. — The  Manerchor,  Berne, 
Switz. 

Lincoln  had  the  most  notable  combination  of  sadness 
and  mirth  that  I  ever  met  with  in  any  of  our  public 
men. — I  have  never  known  any  man  who  had  greater 
reverence  for  God  than  Abraham  Lincoln.  *  *  *  I 
am  quite  sure  that  no  man  could  have  filled  Lincoln's 
place  during  the  Civil  war  with  equal  safety  to  the  Re- 
public— His  ablest  political  enemies  ever  paid  the  highest 
tributes,  not  only  to  his  personal  attributes,  but  to  his 
masterly  ability. — I  learned  not  only  to  respect,  but, 
indeed,  to  reverence  the  man. — Col.  Alexander  K.  McClure. 

•     Lincoln  had  a  spirit  touched  to  fine  issues. — John  M. 
Scovel. 

Next  to  the  destruction  of  the  Confederacy,  the  death 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  darkest  day  the  South  has 
ever  known. — Jefferson  Davis.  (Said  to  A.  KL.  McClure, 
10  years  after  Lincoln's  death.) 

There  is  no  other  name  in  America  today  so  effective 
and  worthy  of  being  used  when  we  would  conure  the 
noble,  the  open,  and  the  tender  in  human  nature. — Rev. 
Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones. 

The  greatest  man  in  the  world  has  Just  died. — Jane 
Addams'  father  (As  recalled  by  her). 

The  phenomenon  of  history. — Burke  Cockeran. 

The  President  is,  without  exception,  the  tenderest 
hearted  man  I  ever  saw. — Judge  Joseph  Holt  (Sec.  of 
War  under  Buchanan). 

A  man  most  worthy  of  memory  in  the  history  of  our 
country. — 8.  S.  McClure. 

Well,  we  might  have  done  a  more  brilliant  thing  but 
we  could  hardly  have  done  a  better  thing. — Judge  Kelley 
to  Carl  Schurz  on  leaving  Lincoln's  home  after  notifi- 
cation. 

144 


He  overspread  a  continent  with  his  pity. — Arthur  H. 
Qleason. 

He  had  an  abiding  faith  in  his  own  convictions,  but 
a  world  of  charity  for  the  views  of  others. — John  W. 
Smith. 

Mr.  Lincoln  is  the  only  white  man  with  whom  I  have 
ever  talked,  or  in  whosa  presence  I  have  even  been,  who 
did  not  consciously  or  unconsciously  betray,  to  me,  that 
he  recognized  my  color.  *  *  *  The  simple  approached 
him  with  ease,  and  the  learned  approached  him  with 
deference.  Take  him  for  all  in  all,  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  one  of  the  noblest,  wisest  and  best  men  I  ever  knew. 
Frederick  Douglas. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  essentialy  a  thinker  who  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions.  *  *  *  Having  been  placed 
by  fortune  in  the  proper  sphere  of  action,  he  showed  he 
was  a  truly  great  man. — Abraham  Hewitt. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  life  was  one  of  true  patriotism,  and  his 
character  one  of  honesty  and  of  the  highest  type  of 
religious  sentiment. — Alexander  Ramsey. 

He  was  a  noble,  whole-souled,  tender-hearted  man.  He 
was  a  model  President  of  this  model  Republic. — P.  T. 
Barnum. 

It  is  my  humble  judgment,  that  in  all  the  positions 
the  great  crisis  forced  him  into  he  was  a  perfect  fit. — 
J.  M.  Bailey. 

BRITISH  PRESS. 

*  *     *     He  governed  with  an  ability  which  even  his 
adversaries  have  not  been   the  last  to  admit.     *      *      * 
His    management    of    state    affairs    has    illuminated    a 
brighter   page   in   the   history   of   his   country    than    any 
which  has  been  emblazoned  since  the  death  of  Washing- 
ton.—  (Oateshead  Observer,  April  29,  1865.) 

Poor  Abraham  Lincoln — "honest  Abe" — the  simple,  the 
noble,  the  true-hearted ;  as  blunt  and  unaffected,  as 
simple-hearted,  kindly  and  playful  in  his  high  position  as 
President  of  the  United  States  as  ever  he  had  been,  in 
earlier  days,  when  he  drove  his  team  through  the  forests 
of  Illinois !  The  people  of  this  country  had  all  come  to 
love  him. — (Glasgow  Herald,  May  1st,  1865.) 

Mr.  Lincoln  slowly  won  for  himself  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  all.  Hia  perfect  honesty  speedily  became 
apparent.  *  *  *  His  utterances  were  apparently 
careless,  but  his  tongue  was  always  under  command.  •  * 
—  (London  Times,  April  27,  ^865.) 

*  *      *      History   will   record   the   name   of   Abraham 
Lincoln    as    that    of    a    pure    and    disinterested    patriot. 
*     *     *     She  will  speak  also  of  the  virtues  which  the 
hard  experience  of  early   life  had   strengthened   in  him  ; 
of  his  large,  humane,  and  tender  sympathies ;  of  his  self- 

145 


control  and  good  temper ;  of  truthfulness  and  sturdy 
honesty.  *  *  *  She  will  represent  him  as  possessed 
with  deep  moral  earnestness,  and  as  endowed  with  vig- 
orous common  sense  and  faculty  for  dealing  with  af- 
fairs. *  *  *  Rising  from  the  poorest  of  the  people, 
winning  his  slow  way  upward  by  sheer  hard  work,  pre- 
serving in  every  successive  stage  a  character  unspotted 
and  a  name  untainted,  never  pretending  to  more  than 
he  was,  nor  being  less  than  he  professed  himself,  he 
was  at  length  placed  in  the  chair  of  President,  at  the 
turning  point  of  his  nation's  history  *  *  *  Never 
was  any  one,  set  in  such  high  place  and  surrounded 
with  so  many  motives  of  furious  detraction,  so  little  im- 
peached of  aught  blameworthy.  *  *  *  He  had  an  in- 
tellect as  well  as  goodness.  Cautiously  conservative, 
fearing  to  pass  the  limits  of  established  systems,  seeking 
the  needful  amendments  rather  from  growth  than  altera- 
tion, he  proved  himself  in  the  crisis  the  very  man  best 
suited  for  his  post.  *  *  *  The  firmness  with  which 
he  refused  to  proceed  faster  than  the  progress  of  events 
warranted  was  equaled  by  the  tenacity  with  which  he 
refused  to  retire  from  the  position  he  had  at  last  thought 
It  right  to  take  up. — (London  Daily  News,  April  27,  1865.) 

It  is  given  to;  few  men  to  triumph  over  the  most 
formidable  obstacles  as  Mr.  Lincoln  triumphed,  by  the 
mere  force  of  honesty  and  sagacity.  His  simple  integ- 
rity of  purpose,  firmness  of  will,  patience,  humanity, 
and  the  deep  sense  of  accountability  which  marked  every 
important  act,  united  to  form  a  character  which  has 
steadily  and  visibly  gained  upon  the  minds  and  hearts, 
not  of  his  own  countrymen  alone,  but  also  of  the  world. 
*  *  *  In  this  country  Mr.  Lincoln's  name  is  men- 
tioned with  regret  by  many  who  four  years  ago  half 
believed  that  he  was  the  wretched  imbecile  he  was  de- 
scribed to  be  by  the  Richmond  press. — (London  Daily 
News,  April  27,  1865.) 

His  reputation  is  based  upon  tried  goodness  and 
proven  greatness.  *  *  *  He  was  raised  up  in  a 
season  of  danger  to  be  a  guide  to  the  State  in  its  diffi- 
culties and  perils.  With  steady  and  unfaltering  purpose 
he  fulfilled  his  alloted  task.  *  *  *  In  the  midst  of 
the  raging  storm  of  battle,  when  all  the  land  was  con- 
vulsed ;  *  *  *  and  at  the  no  less  dangerous  crisis 
when  the  tide  of  victory  set  in,  *  *  *  he  was  true 
to  his  duty,  and  true  to  that  high  mission  from  which 
his  sense  of  duty  derived  its  inspiration.  Fearless  in 
danger,  unshaken  in  adversity,  hopeful  when  the  bravest 
all  but  despaired ;  calm  amidst  the  wild  contagious  ex- 
citement of  success ;  as  imperturable  in  the  general  ecsta- 
cies  produced  by  triumph  as  he  was  resolute  in  the  gen- 
eral despondency  produced  by  misfortune,  he  displayed 
from  first  to  last  the  rare  qualities  of  a  good  man  and 
a  wise  ruler.  His  simplicity  of  character  was  mistaken 
for  Ignorance ;  his  firmness  of  purpose  was  characterized 

146 


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as  obstinacy ;  his  perseverance  was  regarded  as  infatu- 
ation. *  *  *  Lincoln  had  not  fallen  before  the  cause 
to  which  he  devoted  his  life  had  been  rendered  secure. — 
(Ulster  Observer,  Belfast,  April  27,  1865.) 

When  President  Lincoln  penned  the  sentence  which 
liberated  forever  millions  of  his  fellow  creatures  from 
bondage,  and  gave  the  deathblow  to  slavery  throughout 
the  world,  he  did  an  act  which  entitled  him  to  everlasting 
fame. — (Ulster  Observer,  Belfast,  April  27,  1865.) 

The  civilized  world  regarded  with  admiration  the  mag- 
nanimity which  rose  spontaneously,  with  the  haughtiness 
of  virtue,  in  the  breast  of  the  Northern  people,  and 
turned  the  occasion  of  victory  into  an  opportunity  to 
display,  not  merely  mercy,  but  of  brotherly  sympathy 
and  love. —  (Ulster  Observer,  Belfast,  April  27,  1865.) 

We  had  a  deep  respect  and  love  for  this  man.  who, 
quietly  and  unpretendingly,  was  doing  a  great  work.  If 
he  was  not  a  man  of  brilliant  qualities  or  showy  accom- 
plishments, yet  he  possessed  great  grasp  and  force  of  in- 
tellect, honesty  and  singleness  of  purpose,  unsullied  in- 
tegrity, unshaken  perserverance,  firmness  in  authority, 
an  ambition  utterly  unselfish,  the  qualities,  in  short, 
which  go  to  make  the  truest  and  noblest  patriot. — 
(Bradford  Review,  April  29,  1865.) 

AH  lament  the  good  and  great  statesman.  We  doubt 
whether  modern  history  contains  a  grander  character 
than  the  humble  lawyer  of  Illinois.  In  genius  and  a 
deep  insight  into  the  political  future  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  far  from  deficient.  In  high  moral  qualities  he  was 
unsurpassed  by  any  public  character  of  the  age.  His 
hands  were  as  free  from  corruption  as  his  generous  soul 
waa  indisposed  to  harshness.  *  *  *  His  public  virtues 
shone  out  as  brightly  as  his  private  worth,  and  both 
made  him  the  best  beloved  man  in  the  United  States. — 
(The  Freeman's  Journal,  Dublin,  April  28,  1865.) 

In  an  age  teaming  with  intellectual  genius  and  refine- 
ment, Abraham  Lincoln,  the  humble  woodman,  was  called 
to  play  an  arduous,  noble,  and  conspicuous  part  in  the 
great  drama  of  civilization  and  progress. —  (Dublin  Re- 
former, April  29,  1865.) 

*  *  *  Intense  admiration  we  have  ever  had  of  the 
calm,  Christian,  enlightened  statesmanship  of  "honest 
old  Abe,"  his  firm  and  inflexible  determination  to  abide 
by  the  Constitution  of  his  country,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  blot  out,  through  that  Constitution,  the  infamous 
system  and  institution  of  slavery. —  (Caledonian  Mercury. 
Edinburgh,  April  27,  1865.) 

To  us  Abraham  Lincoln  has  always  seemed  the  finest 
character  produced  by  the  American  war,  on  either  side 
of  the  struggle.  He  was  great  not  merely  by  the  force 
of  genius  —  and  only  the  word  genius  will  describe  the 

147 


power  of  intellect  by  which  he  guided  himself  and 
his  country  through  such  a  crisis — but  by  the  simple, 
natural  strength  and  grandeur  of  his  character.  *  *  * 
He  seemed  to  arrive  by  instinct — by  the  instinct  of  a 
noble,  unselfish  and  manly  nature — at  the  very  end  which 
the  highest  of  political  genius,  the  longest  political  ex- 
perience, could  have  done  no  more  than  reach.  He  bore 
himself  fearlessly  in  danger,  calmly  in  difficulty,  modestly 
in  success.  The  world  was  beginning  to  know  how  good, 
and,  in  the  best  sense,  how  great  a  man  he  was. —  (Lon- 
don Morning  Star,  April  27,  1865.) 

Raised  from  the  ranks  of  the  common  people  to  take 
upon  himself  the  responsibilities  of  the  most  gigantic 
struggle  the  world  has  ever  witnessed  between  the  forces 
of  freedom  and  slavery,  he  guided  the  destinies  of  his 
country  with  unwavering  hand  through  all  the  terrors 
and  dangers  of  the  conflict,  and  placed  her  so  high  and 
safe  among  the  nations  of  the  world  that  the  dastards 
of  despotism  dare  no  longer  question  the  strength  and 
majesty  of  freedom. — London  Morning  Star. 

He  boasted  not  of  victory  nor  sought  to  arrogate  to 
himself  the  honors  of  the  great  deeds  which  have  re- 
sounded through  the  world  ;  but  gentle  and  modest  as  he 
was  great  and  good,  he  took  the  chaplet  from  his  own 
brow  to  place  it  on  the  lowly  graves  of  the  soldiers. — 
(London  Morning  Star,  Apr.  27.) 

In  truth  a  man  like  Abraham  Lincoln  is  claimed  by 
humanity  as  her  own. — London  Morning  Star,  April  27. 

Only  Washington  among  the  Presidents  of  the  United 
States  could  compare  with  Lincoln. — The  Spectator,  April 
29,  1865. 

If  there  ever  was  a  leader  in  a  civil  conflict  who 
shunned  acrimony  and  eschewed  passion,  it  was  he.  In 
a  time  of  much  cant  and  affectation,  he  was  simple,  un- 
affected, true,  transparent.  In  a  season  of  many  mis- 
takes he  was  never  known  to  be  wrong. — Liverpool  Daily 
Post,  April  27,  1865. 

The  memory  of  his  statesmanship,  translucent  in  the 
highest  degree  *  *  *  will  live  in  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  as  one  of  the  noblest  examples 
of  that  race's  highest  qualities.  *  *  *  Add  to  this  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  kindest  and  pleasantest  of 
men  ;  that  he  has  raised  himself  from  nothing,  and  that 
to  the  last  no  grain  of  conceit  or  ostentation  was  found 
in  him,  and  there  stands  before  the  world  a  man  whose 
like  we  shall  not  soon  look  again. — Liverpool  Daily 
Post,  April  27,  1865. 

148 


As  a  man  of  great  good  sense  and  cool  judgment,  he 
was  able  to  read  the  signs  of  the  times  with  more  clear- 
ness than  most  of  his  contemporaries,  and  thus  acquiring 
the  rare  faculty  of  not  only  doing  the  right  thing  but 
of  doing  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time. — Leeds  Mer- 
cury, April  27,  1865. 

DIPLOMATS. 

His  firm  and  consistant  maintenance  of  the  Nation's 
cause,  his  clear  understanding  of  the  great  questions  at 
issue,  and  his  unwearied  efforts,  while  enforcing  the  laws, 
to  deprive  the  conflict  of  all  bitterness,  were  all  so 
happily  blended  with  a  reliance  upon  Divine  Providence 
as  to  elevate  him  to  a  high  rank  among  successful  states- 
men. His  name  is,  hereafter,  identified  with  emancipa- 
tion.— 8.  Wells  Williams,  (U.  8.  Minister  to  China,  1865.) 

If  there  is  anything  wanting,  to  complete  the  fame  of 
Lincoln,  it  may  be  found  in  the  crown  of  martyrdom  with 
which  an  eventful  career  in  a  most  eventful  epoch  has 
been  closed,  honored  for  his  virtues,  and  lamented  for 
his  "taking  off." — James  E.  Harvey,  (Ambassador  to 
Portugal),  1865. 

*  *  *  The  great  and  good  man,  who  died  as  he  had 
lived — faithful  to  his  trust  and  at  the  post  of  duty.  *  *  * 
In  Europe,  as  in  America,  enlightened  public  opinion  has 
already  inscribed  among  the  most  illustrious  names  on 
the  roll  of  fame  our  martyred  President. — Rufus  King, 
(V.  8.  Legation  at  Rome,  1865.) 

The  death  of  this  Chief  Magistrate,  elevated  by  the 
force  of  great  events  to  a  place  in  history  not  less  than 
that  of  every  other  human  name  which  the  annals  of  the 
race  records,  and  filling  that  broad  place  worthily,  has 
sent  a  shock  of  horror  through  Europe.  *  *  *  Speak- 
ing from  Europe,  I  may  say :  Already  that  assassin  blow 
has  done  more  to  finish  up  the  sympathies  of  men  for  the 
defenders  of  slavery  and  oligarchy  than  all  that  has  hap- 
pened before  or  since.  *  *  *  The  night  of  April  14th, 
1865,  has  dispelled  forever  the  mistaken  sympathies 
which  the  audacity  of  April  13,  1861,  generated,  and  has 
left  the  enemies  of  human  progress  naked  before  the 
world.  This  in  Europe  *  *  *  A  citizen  President  trium- 
phant over  the  slaveholding  patrician  element,  but  himself 
obedient  to  law,  is  the  result  of  our  people's  virtue  and  his 
own — God's  instrument  in  a  work  which  makes  his  name 
Immortal. — Horatio  J.  Perry,  (U.  8.  Minister  to  Spain.) 

Widespread  was  the  fame  achieved  by  President  Lin- 
coln, and  earnest  was  the  admiration  felt  for  the  services 
he  had  rendered  to  his  race  and  to  his  country,  even  in 
this  remote  corner  of  Europe.  Fe  had  won  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  world  by  the  successful  issue  of  the 

149 


struggle  he  had  directed  against  that  foe,  alike  of  hu- 
manity and  America — Southern  slavery — *  *  *  His 
name  and  fame  will  be  inseparably  associated  with  the 
great  events  in  which  he  was  so  conspicuous  an  actor. 
*  *  *  He  fell  a  victim  to  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
liberty  and  human  rights,  and  he  will  take  his  place  in 
history  among  the  martyrs  whom  universal  humanity 
honors  as  its  benefactors.  President  Lincoln's  course  of 
action  had  been  so  honorable  to  himself,  and  so  useful 
to  his  country,  that  he  had  won  even  the  respect  of  the 
enemies  of  the  noble  cause  he  championed.  He  lived 
long  enough  to  refute  the  calumnies  of  his  foreign  assail- 
ants, and  to  confound  the  wicked  schemes  of  domestic 
traitors.  *  *  *  His  steady  perseverance  in  the  cause 
of  right,  his  unshaken  faith  in  ultimate  success,  and  the 
stern  loyalty  he  exhibited  to  the  Constitution,  astonished 
the  European  world  and  enforced  its  admiration  of  one 
of  the  grandest  exhibitions  of  moral  courage  and  of  con- 
scientious discharge  of  duty  to  be  found  in  ancient  or 
modern  history. — E.  Joy  Morris,  (U.  8.  Minister  at  Con- 
stantinople.) 

In  the  raging  of  political  tornadoes,  he  bore  himself 
with  the  passionless  calm  of  some  abstraction  and 
divested  of  prejudice  or  favor  devoted  himself  to  the 
large  ends  of  human  freedom  and  national  life.  I  feel 
that  his  death  was  the  seal  of  the  deeds  of  his  life,  and 
he  closed  his  eyes  on  great  purposes  achieved  to  open 
tnem  upon  the  immortal  crown. — James  H.  Campbell, 
(Minister  resident,  Stockholm.) 

The  millions  of  America  who  loved  Mr.  Lincoln  as  a 
father  and  revered  him  as  the  purest  and  greatest  of 
patriotic  statesmen,  could  scarcely  have  mourned  him 
more  profoundly  than  did  the  masses  in  Europe.  Espe- 
cially dear  was  he  to  the  citizens  of  this  little  republic 
of  Switzerland.  *  *  The  events  of  his  life,  and  the 
moment  and  manner  of  his  death  will  enshrine  him  in  the 
pantheon  of  history  as  the  most  illustrious  character. — 
George  Q.  Fogg,  (Resident  Minister,  Berne,  Switzerland, 
1865.) 

The  royal  government  is  profoundly  moved  by  the  In- 
telligence which  reached  us  yesterday  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  President  Lincoln.  In  view  of  the  so  happily 
existing  relations  between  Prussia  and  the  United  States, 
the  undersigned  cannot  forbear  to  express  to  their  govern- 
ment the  sincere  sympathy  of  the  royal  government. — 
Otto  von  Bismarck,  Berlin,  April  Wth,  1865. 

The  man  who  accomplished  such  great  deeds  from  the 
simple  desire  conscientiously  to  perform  his  duty,  the 
man  who  never  wished  to  be  more  nor  less  than  the  most 
faithful  servant  of  the  people, — the  man  will  find  his 
own  glorious  place  in  the  pages  of  history.  In  the  deep- 

150 


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sw«vi.\<  > 

I'AHT   OK   THK 
LINK  OK  THK  r.S.F 

<»M  .July  'Ji^'^'.lttii  : 

KMilXKKIl  IIKI'T. 
IIIS.<aW{(',WtTKHX.\l*.>f\  or  THK 

ttff»<t*i,  _ .  _  tf  fa 


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/  - 


<fx 


•*«. 


est  reverence  I  bow  my  head  before  this  modest  great- 
ness, and  I  think  it  is  especially  agreeable  to  the  spirit 
of  our  nation,  to  pay  the  tribute  of  veneration  to  such 
greatness,  exalted  as  it  is  by  simplicity  and  modesty. — 
Deputy  Dr.  William)  Loe-we,  Prussian  House  of  Deputies. 

Whatever  may  have  been  done  in  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Lincoln  is  being  canonized  in  Europe.  A  like  unanim- 
ity of  eulogy  of  sovereigns,  parliaments,  corporate  bodies, 
by  the  people,  and  by  all  public  journals,  was  never  be- 
fore witnessed  on  this  continent.  The  most  truthful  and 
eloquent  testimonials  are  now  given  by  some  of  those 
that  belied  him  most  while  living. — Berlin,  May  4th.  N. 
B.  Judd,  U.  S.  Minister  to  Prussia,  to  Mr.  Hunter,  Wash. 

The  very  high  qualities  which  had  adorned  the  illus- 
trious dead,  *  *  *  had  won  for  him  throughout  the 
world,  and  particularly  in  this  republic,  the  purest  sym- 
pathy and  admiration. — Juan  Antonio  Pevet,  President 
of  Peru.  Lima,  Peru,  May  28,  1865. 

*  *  *  All  peoples  in  both  hemispheres  rise  with  one 
voice  to  condemn  the  cowardly  assassins  who  have  black- 
ened the  brilliant  pages  of  that  wonderful  war  just  when 
the  country  already  saw  peace  on  the  horizon,  and  when, 
undoubtedly,  that  peace  is  owing  to  the  efforts,  the  con- 
stancy, and  the  skill  with  which  the  lamented  Mr.  Lin- 
coln has  directed  those  events. — Count  of  Vistahermosa — 
in  and,  in  behalf  of  the  Spanish  Senate. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  firm  and  resolute  character,  his  good 
common  sense,  and  his  associations,  acquired  general 
esteem  for  him  in  Europe. — Count  Manderstrom,  Minister 
Foreign  Affairs,  Stockholm,  Sweden. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  the  mighty  leader  of  these  great 
events,  the  manly  model  of  civic  virtue,  of  pure  and 
noble  humanity,  will  be  held  holy  in  the  memory  of  the 
inhabitants  of  his  native  land,  and  be  worshipped  by  the 
world. — Buren,  June  5th,  1865.  Johann  Pflster,  in  behalf 
of  Swiss  People. 

That  which  won  for  Mr.  Lincoln  most  admiration  in 
Europe  was  his  modesty  in  expression  and  firmness  in 
action.  *  *  *  Lincoln  was  the  best  friend  I  ever 
had.  He  was  the  most  conscientious  man  I  ever  knew, 
and  ranks  with  Washington  in  genius,  public  service  and 
patriotism. — Cassius  M.  Clay,  Ambassador,  Russia. 

The  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln  will  be  cherished  so  long 
as  we  have  a  history,  as  one  of  the  wisest,  purest,  and 
noblest  magistrates,  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  to 
the  human  race  that  have  ever  lived.  I  believed  that  the 
foundation  of  his  whole  character  was  a  devotion  to 
duty  which  enabled  him  to  discharge  the  functions  of  his 

151 


great  office,  in  one  of  the  most  terrible  periods  of  the 
world's  history,  with  such  rare  sagacity,  patience,  cheer- 
fulness and  courage.  *  *  *  I  have  followed  his  career  with 
an  ever  increasing  veneration  for  a  character  and  an  intel- 
lect which  seemed  to  expand,  and  to  grow  more  vigorous 
the  greater  the  demand  that  was  made  upon  their 
strength.— ,7.  Lothrop  Motley,  (U.  S.  Minister  to  Austria.) 

I  think  it  is  generally  conceded  that  the  death  of  no 
man  has  ever  occurred  that  awakened  such  prompt  and 
universal  sympathy,  at  once  among  our  own  people  and 
among  foreign  nations.  Even  here  in  foreign  lands, 
what  American  has  not  been  surprised  by  the  universal 
demonstration  elicited  from  all  parties  and  from  every 
class,  from  the  humblest  and  from  the  most  exalted.  *  *  * 
Such  a  tribute  was  never  paid  to  our  country  before ; 
such  homage  was  never  paid  to  any  other  American. 

*  *      *      His   death    and    the   time    and    manner   of    it 
seemed  to  have  rendered  his  whole  public  career  luminous, 
and  to  make  it  clear  that  he  had  been  fighting  the  fight 
of  humanity,  of  justice  and  of  civilization.    *    *    *    His 
public    and    private    virtues    have    secretly    but    steadily 
been  graving  themselves  upon  the  hearts  of  mankind. — 
We,  his  compatriots,  know  best  what  a  rare  collection  of 
public    and    private    virtues    went    down    into    the    grave 
with  Abraham  Lincoln.    *    *    *    That  simple-hearted  and 
single-minded    patriot    has    been    transfigured,    and    has 
taken    his   place    in    history    as    the    impersonation    of   a 
cause,  which,  hereafter,  it  will  be  blasphemy  to  assail. — 
John  Bigelow,  (U.  S.  Minister  to  France.) 

The  man  who  has  fallen  was  immolated  for  no  act  of 
his  own.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  during  his 
whole  career  he  ever  made  a  single  personal  enemy.  In 
this  peculiarity  he  shone  prominently  among  statesmen. — 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  faithful  exponent  of  the  senti- 
ments of  a  whole  people.  The  ball  that  penetrated  his 
brain  was  addressed  to  the  heart  of  each  and  every  one 
of  us.  He  has  paid  the  penalty  for  executing  our  will. 

*  *  *  It  is  one  of  the  peculiar  merits  of  Mr.  Lincoln  that 
he  knew   how  to  give   shape,   in   action,   to  the   popular 
feelings  as  they  developed  themselves  under  his  observa- 
tion.    He  never  sought  to  lead,  but  rather  to  follow,  and 
thus  he   succeeded    in   the   difficult   task    of   successfully 
combining   conservatism    with    progress.      His    labor    was 
always  to  improve.     Hence  it  was  that  he  conducted  a 
war  of  unexampled   magnitude,   always  bearing  in   mind 
the  primary  purpose  for  which   it  had   been  commenced, 
at  the  same  time  associating  with  it  broader  ones  as  the 
opportunity  came.     He  had  pledged  himself  at  the  outset 
to  accomplish   certain  objects,   and   he  never  forgot  that 
pledge.     *     *     *     The  time  had  at  last  arrived  when  he 
might  honestly  claim  that  it  would  be  fulfilled.     It  was  In 
that  moment  he  was  taken  away.     On  the  very  same  day 
of   the    year    when    the    National    flag,    which    Just    four 

152 


years  before,  had  been  lowered  to  triumphant  enemies 
at  Fort  Sumter,  was  once  more  lifted  to  its  original  posi- 
tion by  the  hand  of  the  same  officer  who  had  suffered  the 
indignity  that  commenced  the  war,  Abraham  Lincoln 
fell.  His  work  was  done.  He  had  fought  the  good  fight ; 
he  had  finished  his  course : — and  now  we  may  well  cry 
out :  "Go  up,  go  up,"  with  your  gory  temples  twined 
with  the  evergreen  symbols  of  a  -patriot's  wreath,  and 
bearing  the  double  glory  of  a  martyr's  crown.  Go  up, 
while  for  us  here  remaining  on  earth,  your  memory  shall 
be  garnered  In  the  hearts  of  us  and  our  latest  posterity, 
in  common  with  the  priceless  treasure  heaped  up  by  the 
great  fathers  of  the  Republic,  and  close  by  that  of  the 
matchless  Washington.  *  *  *  Let  us  draw  together  as 
one  man  in  the  tribute  of  our  admiration  of  one  of  the 
purest,  one  of  the  most  single-minded,  and  noble-hearted 
patriots  that  ever  ruled  over  the  people  of  any  land. — 
Charles  Frances  Adams.  (At  meeting  of  Americans,  resi- 
dent in  London,  St.  James  Hall,  May  1st,  1865.) 

LINCOLN    APHORISMS. 

The  battle  of  freedom  is  to  be  fought  out  on  principle. 
There  is  both  a  power  and  a  magic  in  popular  opinion. 

I  have  no  policy.  My  hone  is  to  save  the  Union.  I 
do  the  best  I  can  to-day  with  the  hope  that  when  to- 
morrow comes  I  am  ready  for  its  duties. —  (Said  to  Gen- 
eral ,T.  M.  Palmer.) 

If  I  know  my  heart  my  gratitude  is  free  from  any 
taint  of  personal  triumph. 

I  go  for  all  sharing  the  privileges  of  the  Government 
who  assist  in  bearing  its  burdens.  Consequently  I  go  for 
admitting  all  whites  to  the  right  of  suffrage  who  pay 
taxes  or  bear  arms, — by  no  means  excluding  women. 

It  Is  no  pleasure  for  me  to  triumph  over  any  one. 

I  am  the  peoples'  attorney  in  this  great  affair.  I  am 
trying  to  do  the  best  I  can  for  my  client, — the  country. 

Every  man  is  said  to  have  his  peculiar  ambition. 
Whether  it  be  true  or  not  I  can  say.  for  one,  I  have  no 
other  so  great  as  that  of  being  truly  esteemed  by  my 
fellow  men  by  rendering  myself  worthy  of  their  esteem. 

If  he  has  no  friend  I  will  be  his  friend. 

We  should  avoid  planting  too  many  thorns  in  the  bosom 
of  society. 

If  any  man  ceases  to  attack  me  I  never  remember  the 
past,  against  him. 

If  there  were  more  praying  and  less  swearing  it  would 
be  better  for  our  country. 

I  am  satisfied  that  when  the  Almighty  wants  me  to  do 
or  not  to  do  a  particular  thing  He  finds  a  way  of  letting 
me  know  it. 

153 


I  shall  go  to  God  with  my  sorrows. 

We  shall  sooner  have  a  fowl  by  hatching  the  egg  than 
by  smashing  It. —  (Said  In  reference  to  the  La.  Con.) 

The  discipline  and  character  of  the  National  forces 
should  not  suffer,  nor  the  cause  they  defend  be  imperiled 
by  the  profanation  of  the  day,  or  the  name  of  the  Most 
High. 

War  does  not  admit  of  holidays. 

The  honor  is  all  yours,  for  I  believe  none  of  us  went 
further  than  to  acquiesce.  (To  Sherman  on  capture  of 
Savannah. ) 

No  part  of  the  honor  for  plan  or  execution  is  mine. 
(After  Appomattix.) 

With  malice  towards  none,  with  charity  for  all. 

While  I  hold  myself,  without  mock  modesty,  the 
humblest  of  all  individuals  that  have  ever  been  elevated 
to  the  Presidency,  I  have  a  more  difficult  task  to  per- 
form than  any  one  of  them. 

I  don't  believe  it  is  wise  to  swap  horses  while  crossing 
a  stream. 

Now  I  am  about  to  call  upon  the  band  for  a  tune  that 
our  adversaries  have  endeavored  to  appropriate.  But  we 
fairly  captured  it  yesterday,  and  the  Att'y  General  gave 
me  his  legal  opinion  that  it  is  now  our  property.  So  I 
ask  the  band  to  play  "Dixie."  (Said  at  close  of  address 
on  Appomatox  surrender. 

A  private  soldier  has  as  much  right  to  justice  as  a 
Major  General. 

Die  when  I  may  I  want  it  said  of  me  by  those  who 
know  me  best,  that  I  always  plucked  a  thistle  and 
planted  a  flower  when  I  thought  a  flower  would  grow. 

God  selects  his  own  instruments  and  sometimes  they 
are  queer  ones.  He  chose  me  to  steer  the  ship  through 
a  great  crisis. 

I  never  shall  live  out  the  four  years  of  my  term.  When 
the  Rebellion  is  crushed  my  work  is  done. 

Reasonable  men  have  long  since  agreed  that  intemper- 
ance is  one  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the  greatest,  of  all 
evils  of  mankind. 

No  man  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  himself  can 
spare  time  for  personal  contention. 

If  slavery  Is  not  wrong  nothing  is  wrong. 

I  have  not  willingly  planted  a  thorn  in  any  man's 
bosom. 

Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes  might ;  and.  In 
that  faith  let  us  to  the  end  dare  to  do  our  duty  as  we 
understand  it. 

154 


I  know  that  the  Lord  is  always  on  the  side  of  the 
right.  But  it  is  my  constant  anxiety  and  prayer  that  I 
and  this  Nation  shall  be  on  the  Lord's  side. 

I  have  always  made  it  a  rule  if  people  will  not  turn 
out  for  me,  I  will  for  them.  If  I  didn't  there  would  be 
a  collision. 

Better  give  your  path  to  a  dog  than  be  bitten  by  him 
in  contending  for  the  right.  Even  killing  the  dog  would 
not  cure  the  bite. 

You  can  fool  some  of  the  people  all  the  time  ;  you  can 
fool  all  the  people  some  of  the  time ;  but  you  can't  fool 
all  the  people  all  the  time. 

I  protest  against  the  counterfeit  logic  which-  concludes 
that  because  I  do  not  want  a  black  woman  for  a  slave  I 
must  necessarily  want  her  for  a  wife.  *  *  *  I  shall 
never  marry  a  negress,  but  I  have  no  objection  to  any  one 
else  doing  so.  If  a  white  man  wants  to  marry  a  negro 
woman,  let  him  do  so, — if  the  negro  woman  can  stand  it. 

I  shall  do  nothing  in  malice.  What  I  deal  with  is  too 
vast  for  malicious  dealing. 

Even  though  much  provoked  let  us  do  nothing  through 
passion  and  ill  temper. 

Gold  is  good  in  its  place;  but  living,  brave  and 
patriotic  men  are  better  than  gold. 

Whatever  shall  appear  to  be  God's  will  I  do. 

I  am  a  patient  man,  always  ready  to  forgive  on  the 
Christian  terms  of  repentence,  and  also  to  give  ample 
time  for  repentence. 

The  severest  Justice  may  not  always  be  the  best  policy. 

The  world  is  in  want  of  a  good  definition  for  the  word 
liberty.  *  *  *  The  shepherd  drives  the  wolf  from  the 
sheep's  throat,  for  which  the  sheep  thanks  the  shepherd 
as  a  liberator,  while  the  wolf  denounces  him  for  the 
same  act,  as  the  destroyer  of  liberty. 

The  present  moment  finds  me  at  the  White  House,  yet 
there  is  as  good  a  chance  for  your  children  as  there  was 
for  my  father's. 

Labor  is  superior  to  capital  and  deserves  much  the 
higher  consideration. 

No  men  living  are  more  worthy  to  be  trusted  than 
those  who  toil  up  from  poverty. 

Moral  cowardice  is  something  which  I  think  I  never 
had. 

I  authorize  no  bargains,  and  will  be  bound  by  none. 
(Said  In  reference  to  nomination.) 

I  was  losing  interest  in  politics  when  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  aroused  me  again.  (To  E.  B. 
Washburne.) 

155 


If  there  is  a  man  that  can  push  our  armies  forward 
one  mile  further  or  one  hour  faster,  he  Is  the  man  that 
ought  to  be  in  my  place.  (Thurlow  Weed.) 

Wealth  is  simply  a  superfluity  of  what  we  don't  need. 

I  do  not  think  much  of  a  man  who  is  not  wiser  to-day 
than  he  was  yesterday.  I  have  always  found  that  mercy 
bears  richer  fruit  than  strict  justice. 

The  plainest  print  cannot  be  tead  through  a  gold  eagle. 

The  contract  awarded  to  me  on  the  6th  of  November, 
1860,  was  a  big  job. 

I  do  not  seek  applause,  nor  to  amuse  the  people;  I 
want  to  convince  them. 

We  shall  not  fail,  if  we  stand  firm,  we  shall  not  fail. 
Wise  counsels  may  accelerate,  or  mistakes  delay,  but 
sooner  or  later,  the  victory  is  sure  to  come.  (June, 
1858,  at  Springfield.) 

The  great  job  is  finished.  I  cannot  but  congratulate 
all  present,  myself,  the  country,  and  the  whole  world,  on 
this  great  moral  victory.  (On  passage  of  resolution  for 
Constitutional  amendment  abolishing  slavery.) 

It  really  hurts  me  very  much  to  suppose  that  I  have 
wronged  anybody  on  earth. 

You  may  have  a  wen  or  a  cancer  upon  your  person, 
and  not   be  able  to  cut  it  out  lest  you  bleed  to  death  ; 
but  surely,  it  is  no  way  to  cure  It,  to  ingraft  and  spread 
it  over  your  whole  body, — that  is  no  proper  way  of  treat 
ing  what  you  regard  a  wrong. 

It  matters  not  what  becomes  of  me. — If  I  go  down,  I 
intend  to  go  down  like  the  Cumberland  with  my  colors 
flying. 

One  war  at  a  time. 

He  who  would  be  no  slave  must  have  no  slave. 

I  am  altogether  unconscious  of  having  attempted  double 
dealing  anywhere. 

I  am  always  willing  to  forgive  on  the  Christian  terms 
of  repentence,  still  I  must  save  this  government  if 
possible. 

If  they  decline  what  I  suggest  you  scarcely  need  ask 
what  I  will  do. 

It  is  good  policy  never  to  plead  what  you  need  not,  lest 
you  oblige  yourself  to  prove  what  you  cannot. 

By  a  course  of  reasoning,  Euclid  proves  that  the  angles 
of  a  triangle  are  equal  to  two  right  angles.  Now  if  you 
undertake  to  disprove  that  proposition,  would  you  prove 
it  false  by  calling  Euclid  a  liar? 

Governor, — I'll  make  the  ground  of  this  country  too 
hot  for  the  foot  of  a  slave,  if  he" — (a  free  negro  seized  in 
New  Orleans),  "be  not  returned  to  his  home  in  Illinois." 

156 


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